This viral video shows the earthquake in Taiwan, not in California

This footage was taken during an earthquake in Taipei, Taiwan, in April 2024, not a recent earthquake in California.

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook a large area of Northern California on 5 December 2024. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries from the quake. Following this, there surfaced many viral videos on social media. Among this. one video we noticed is that of a building visibly shaking during an earthquake, with a lampshade rocking sharply claiming to be from the recent earthquake in Taiwan. It is filmed from inside a high-rise building looking across a city, the building can be seen to be swaying from side to side as furniture moves and falls over. The caption of the video states, “The striking moments of the 7-magnitude earthquake that occurred in the US state of California were captured on camera! The strength of the earthquake once again reveals how impressive nature can be”.

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Fact Check-

We conducted a reverse image search on Google with the key frames of the viral video and the results led us to a similar video uploaded on Instagram on 6 April with the caption: “Taipei Earthquake 2024”. The caption continued: “This was one of the scariest few minutes of my life. I was trying to figure out where to protect myself in my hotel room. I started to move towards the center of the building once the big jolts slowed down. After the first huge jolt, there were numerous aftershocks.” The caption also specified the video was captured on 3 April. 

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For further clarification we contacted the person who posted it, he confirmed us that he captured the video and it was taken in Taipei, Taiwan, in April of this year. He tagged the DoubleTree by Hilton Taipei Zhongshan as the location in the Instagram post.

So, the video was actually filmed in Taipei, Taiwan, not from California. A strong earthquake that hit Taiwan on 3 April measured magnitude 7.4, according to the United States Geological Survey, 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.

Conclusion–

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be False. This footage was taken during an earthquake in Taipei, Taiwan, in April 2024, not a recent earthquake in California.