Fact Check: Clip of flooded subway station pre-dates 2023 New York floods - Reuters

Fact Check: Clip of flooded subway station pre-dates 2023 New York floods | Reuters

Fact Check: Clip of flooded subway station pre-dates 2023 New York floods

A video of an individual wading through waste-high flood water inside a subway station featured in news reports published about flooding in New York in 2021 and pre-dates the torrential rains that hit New York City in late September this year.

Torrential rain led to flash flooding, with almost eight inches falling in certain areas of New York City on Sept. 29. Eyewitness video published by Reuters does show flood water seeping into a New York City subway during the recent rainfall.

But a years-old clip is circulating showing an individual stepping into waste-high water inside a flooded subway station, wearing a pink T-shirt and a black bag slung over one shoulder.

One social media user shared the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sept. 29 with a caption that reads: “People are swimming in the subway in New York City. just think of all the trash and rodent feces and diseases. NYC MTA is in a state of emergency due to heavy rain and flooding.”

The clip pre-dates the torrential rain that hit the city in late September. It featured in news reports about Tropical Storm Elsa published in July 2021.

The earliest iteration of the video currently available online stems from an X account posted on July 8, 2021.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the agency that manages the city’s transportation, said to Reuters in an email that the video shows flooding that occurred during Tropical Storm Elsa in 2021.

VERDICT

Miscaptioned. The video featured in news reports of flooding in New York City in July 2021.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.