Unrelated Video Going Visal As The Recent Earthquake In The Nepal-Tibet Border.

Recently, a video showing a compilation of video clips of different buildings getting destroyed went viral on social media, claiming it to be the destruction caused by the recent earthquake in the Nepal-Tibet border. 

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However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was false. The video clips are unrelated to the recent earthquake on the Nepal-Tibet border. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check

The viral video contains nine different clips. We started our investigation by taking screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. 

First Clip and Second Clip 

The reverse image search led us to a YouTube channel where a video similar to the first and second clips was uploaded on 14 September 2021. According to the caption, 15 unfinished buildings were demolished in China.

We found other reports and videos mentioning the clips to be from China where unfinished buildings were demolished.

Third Clip

A reverse image search of the third clip led us to a YouTube video similar to the clip uploaded on 8 September 2024. The caption of the video reads, “Capital One building in Lake Charles demolished”

The description of the video read, “The high-rise was badly damaged during Hurricane Laura, city leaders decided repairing the building would be a “far greater task for any developer to consider”

Using relevant keywords, we found news reports that stated, “The Capital One Tower in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was imploded on September 7, 2024, at 8 AM. The building was severely damaged by Hurricane Laura in 2020 and was considered a blight on the city. The owner, Hertz Investment Group, estimated that renovating the building would cost over $150 million”. 

Please read here and here.

Fourth Clip

A reverse image search of the fourth clip led us to a Chinese website “Meipian“, where the clip was uploaded, but it was shot from a slightly different angle.  

The report was published on 13 November 2020. The report read, “To implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on doing a good job in ecological and environmental protection and implement the requirements of the provincial party committee, provincial government, county party committee and county government on the compulsory demolition of illegal buildings in the first phase of the Changdao Blue Bay project of Hainan Mingjiao Industrial Development Co., Ltd., to ensure that our county completes the demolition task. According to the spirit of the meeting of the special office for combating “two violations” in Lingao County, the Lingao County Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau took the lead, and jointly with the Lingao County Public Security Bureau, Lincheng Town Government, Health Commission, Fire Brigade and other relevant departments, on October 30, 2020, the No. 3, No. 18, and No. 19 buildings of the first phase of the Changdao Blue Bay project were demolished. As of November 13, the illegal construction area of No. 3, No. 18, and No. 19 buildings of the project, totalling more than 42,000 square meters, has been completely demolished, and the construction waste generated by the demolition is being cleaned up and restored to its original state.”

Another report can be read here.

Fifth Clip

We found the fifth clip on a YouTube channel uploaded on 31 May 2020. The description of the video reads, “A 21-storey building in downtown Richmond, Virginia, was demolished in a spectacular implosion. The former Dominion Energy office tower came down in just 20 seconds. The tower, completed in 1978, had been vacant since last autumn when the company relocated its offices to a new building.”

We found other news reports that stated that the Dominion Energy Tower, a 21-story building in downtown Richmond, Virginia, was imploded as it had been vacant for a long time.

Sixth Clip

Conducting a reverse image search of the sixth clip, we found the clip on the YouTube channel “The National News” uploaded on 27 November 2020. According to the caption, the buildings shown in the clip were Mina Plana in Abu Dhabi.

The Mina Plaza was comprised of four towers in the Mina Zayed area of Abu Dhabi that were demolished in November 2020.

Seventh Clip

The seventh clip shows the controlled demolition of unfinished buildings in China.

Eighth Clip

According to reports, the building shown in the clip is located in China.

This makes it clear that the clips in the viral video are not related to the recent earthquake in the Nepal-Tibet border.

Conclusion

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The videos are not related to the recent earthquake in the Nepal-Tibet border. The video clips show different incidents of demolition of buildings.