Fact check: Video shows flooded Houston school in 2019, not aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Florida
The claim: Video shows Florida schools were open during hurricane
Some social media users are sharing a video they claim shows Florida students walking through flooded hallways during Hurricane Ian, a storm that made landfall Sept. 28.
"Someone just sent me this video," reads the caption of the video in an Oct. 1 Facebook post. "Florida still had schools open in (sic) during the hurricane?"
The video, which was viewed more than 2,000 times, shows children walking on benches in a flooded school hallway, carrying what appears to be lunch boxes.
But the video is not from the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. It's from Houston, Texas, in 2019.
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USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the claim for comment.
Video is from 2019
The video in the social media post is from September 2019, when an elementary school in Houston flooded during Tropical Storm Imelda. The footage was aired by FOX26 in Houston.
Kids were at Durham Elementary School during the storm because the school district where the video was taken, Houston Independent School District, did not close.
With Hurricane Ian, NPR reported that a majority of public school districts in Florida closed for at least a day in light of the storm.
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As of Oct. 4, six days after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida, more than 90% of Florida public school districts have reopened, according to a Florida Department of Education press release.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows Florida schools were open during the hurricane. The video shows children at a flooded school in Houston in 2019.
Our fact-check sources:
Florida Department of Education, Oct. 4, Florida Department of Education Announces 68 of 75 School Districts are Open for In-Person Instruction Less Than One Week After Hurricane Ian Made Landfall
NPR, Sept. 30, More than 2.5 million Florida students have missed school during Hurricane Ian
Fox 26 Houston, Sept. 20, 2019, HISD teacher makes bench bridge for students after school floods
ABC 13, Sept. 20, 2019, HISD teacher makes bench bridge to keep elementary students dry during Imelda
USA TODAY, Sept. 28, Hurricane Ian one of strongest storms in US history; 2M in Florida without power; 911 callers stranded in homes
Houston Public Media, Sept. 20, 2019, Houston Parents, Teachers Frustrated District Didn’t Cancel School During Imelda
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Video shows students at flooded Houston school in 2019
