Fact check: Earthquake videos are from Nepal and Trinidad, not Turkey

Eleanor McCrary, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Videos are from Turkey earthquake

A Feb. 7 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) features two video clips purportedly from the Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

The first video shows people running and covering their heads in a grocery store as items fall off the shelves. The second displays people in a street as a tremor hits.

"Earthquake dangerous in Turkish," reads the on-screen text in the video.

The video was shared over 300 times in six days.

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Our rating: False

Neither video clip is from the Feb. 6 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Both have been online for several years.

Videos are from Trinidad and Nepal

The death toll from the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria has risen to over 36,000 people, USA TODAY reported on Feb. 14.

But these videos are not from that catastrophe.

The footage from the supermarket has been online since 2018. It was recently featured in a 2022 YouTube video by Underworld, a verified natural disaster channel.

"From a powerful earthquake in Trinidad," the video voiceover said. "Quickly clearing the shelves in a busy grocery store."

A man looks for clothing in Adiyaman, southern Turkey, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. Thousands left homeless by a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria a week ago packed into crowded tents or lined up in the streets Monday for hot meals as the desperate search for survivors entered what was likely its last hours.
A man looks for clothing in Adiyaman, southern Turkey, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. Thousands left homeless by a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria a week ago packed into crowded tents or lined up in the streets Monday for hot meals as the desperate search for survivors entered what was likely its last hours.

The second clip is even older.

It's from an earthquake in Nepal, according to a blog post by the American Geophysical Union. The video has been online since at least 2015.

USA TODAY has debunked several photos and videos falsely linked to the disaster, including false claims that a building demolition in Saudi Arabia and a stock photo of a dog were tied to the earthquakes.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Earthquake videos are from Nepal and Trinidad, not Turkey