Old video from Indonesia shared linking to Taiwan earthquake

Viral video is from Indonesia and it dates back to 2021.

A strong earthquake that hit Taiwan on 3 April measured magnitude 7.4, according to the United States Geological Survey, and was the strongest to hit the island in about 25 years. It killed nine people and injured more than 900, while 50 workers travelling in minibuses to a hotel in a national park were missing. Amid this, a viral video showing a woman wearing the pink hijab shooting the waves using a selfie stick. A few second later, they are all washed away by the waves. The users who shared the video claim it is from Taiwan.

The caption states, “A Taiwanese driver stopped their car during today’s earthquake and observed river water swaying back and forth”.

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Fact Check-

We conducted a reverse image search on Google with the key frames of the viral video to find the original source. As a result, we found a report by Tribune News published on 13 December, 2021, mentioned that “The woman known as Rina Bono deliberately created content challenging the waves on the beach in Indonesia.  Rina made content about challenging the waves but ended up rolling and rolling in the bushes. Rina, who managed to get back on her feet after falling, immediately took the camera and continued creating content.”

The woman wanted to promote the Bono tourist destination on the Kampar River, Teluk Meranti. Rina and several other You Tubers in Teluk Meranti always immortalize this natural phenomenon which has gone global with various Vlog content.

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This is a local tourist attraction in Indonesia. The video was taken during a Bono wave, also known as a tidal bore, in Riau. The tidal bores were a common tourist attraction near the Kampar River in Riau, where the video was shot.

In a video that went viral on social media, Rina was seen standing on the beach and then running, it has been shared by many social media accounts. You can see the complete video below.

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The Facebook page of Daily mail also posted this video under the title Bono tidal wave sweeps up woman in Indonesia.

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It confirms that the video is not related to the recent earthquakes that struck Taiwan, but it is at least as old as early December 2021 and is from Indonesia.

Earlier we debunked the same claim linked to Japan earthquake

2021video from Indonesia shared linking to Japan earthquake

Conclusion–

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be False. The viral video is not from the earthquake that hit Taiwan on 3 April 2024, but from a tourist place in Indonesia. And it dates back to 2021.