On December 2, 2021, images of alleged floods in South Sudan’s city, Bentiu were shared on Twitter. They showed dead livestock and houses submerged in floods.
Here, we establish where these images were taken and when.
Background
The current flooding in South Sudan’s Unity State left houses destroyed, people homeless and crops destroyed. Delayed humanitarian response left at least 152,000 people in dire living conditions.
According to the Médicens Sans Frontièrs, those displaced are now in Bentiu camp sleeping in markets and under trees due to overcrowding and lack of shelter.
Verification
Reverse image searches show that the first and second images were first featured in this article by The Star on November 30, 2021. These images are attributed to Solomon Muingi, a journalist attached to this newspaper. According to The Star, hundreds of cows and sheep were swept away in floods experienced on November 28 and 29, 2021 in Taita Taveta County.
The same image was featured in an article by The Standard on December 1, 2021. Further, a video of these floods was featured in a news bulletin by Nation Media on November 27, 2021.
The third image, unlike the first two, was taken in Bentiu, capital of Unity State in South Sudan. According to this article by Médicens Sans Frontièrs severe floods in Bentiu exposed people to infectious and waterborne diseases. This risk accounts to close to 152,000 displaced people, living in horrific conditions.
Verdict
The tweet claiming to show flooding in Bentiu, South Sudan is PARTLY TRUE.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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