Fact-Check: Image From Peru Shared as Condition of Uttarakhand's Joshimath

The 2018 picture is from the Cusco region of Peru and showed the impact of a landslide.

A picture showing huge cracks and crevices on what looks like a hill is being shared on the internet with a claim that it is from Uttarakhand's Joshimath.

Who shared it?: A Facebook page called Tatva India shared the image on its handle with a caption that said 600 families from "sinking Joshimath" will be shifted to safer locations.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

What is the truth?: While the Joshimath area has experienced landslides, this picture is neither recent nor it is from India.

• It is from March 2018 and is from the Cusco region of Peru.

• The Ministry of Defence of Peru uploaded some pictures on its official Twitter handle, and we found that it also carried the viral image.

• The post was shared with a caption in Spanish, which loosely translates to, "Minister of Defense, Jorge Kisic, together with the regional governor of Cusco, @EdwinLiconaGRC , carried out an inspection overflight in an area affected by land displacement in the district of Llusco, #Cusco."

Ministro de Defensa, Jorge Kisic, junto con el gobernador regional de Cusco, @EdwinLiconaGRC, realiza sobrevuelo de inspección en zona afectada por desplazamiento de tierra en el distrito de Llusco, #Cusco. pic.twitter.com/U7b1TXzgNC

— Mindef Perú (@MindefPeru) March 15, 2018

How did we find out?:

• A reverse image search led us to the viral image uploaded on the website of Wikimedia Commons.

• The image was uploaded with the caption, "A 15 March 2018 image of a landslide near Cusco, Peru."

• It was attributed to Galeria del Ministerio de Defensa del Peru, which translates to Gallery of the Ministry of Defense of Peru.

• Further, we found the same picture uploaded on the Flickr account of the Ministry of Defence of Peru.

What happened in Peru?: According to reports, the Peruvian government had declared a state of emergency in Cusco after a landslide severely destroyed homes, highways, and roads.

The context: The Joshimath area in Uttarakhand was declared disaster-prone, with more than 700 houses being damaged due to land subsidence. People are now being evacuated to safety zones.

CM Dhami announces relief: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh for all the families that have been impacted in Joshimath. The priority would be given to those families who would have to be relocated.

Conclusion: An old image from Peru is being shared to claim it shows the condition of Joshimath.

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