Fact Check: Russia earthquake results in tsunami hitting seacoast, store collapsing? Viral videos are old
After the earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, several videos have been doing the rounds online linking them to the disaster.
By Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The first video shows the earthquake-triggered tsunami hitting the Russian seacoast, and the second captures a shop being destroyed by the earthquake in Russia.
Fact:The claim is false. The first video shows a tsunami that struck Greenland’s west coast in 2017, while the second is CCTV footage from Myanmar, showing a shop being damaged during a powerful earthquake in March 2025.
Hyderabad: A massive 8.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on the morning of July 30, triggering tsunami alerts across the Pacific, including Japan, Alaska and Hawaii.
Meanwhile, several videos have surfaced on social media claiming to show the aftermath of the earthquake and the resulting tsunami. In one viral clip, three men are seen trying to escape as a massive wave crashes onto a shoreline. Another video shows a woman getting dangerously trapped inside a store as shelves collapse around her.
Video 1
Sharing the video of the wave hitting the seacoast, an X user wrote, “Massive earthquake unleashes deadly tsunami thousands swept away in seconds with little to no warning. Nature strikes without mercy. #Tsunami #Russia #earthquake.” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video shows a tsunami hitting Greenland’s west coast in 2017.
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframe led us to the same footage, published on a verified YouTube channel, Licet Studio, on April 9, 2021.
According to the channel, on June 17, 2017, a massive landslide on Greenland’s Umiammakku Nunaat peninsula triggered a tsunami that struck the village of Nuugaatsiaq within minutes, killing four people and injuring nine. The wave destroyed 11 buildings and forced the evacuation of around 200 residents.
We also found the video published by Newsflare on May 10, 2021, titled ‘Fishermen Make A Lucky Escape As Tsunami Hits In Greenland.’ This channel also stated that the video depicts a tsunami that hit the village of Nuugaatsiaq in Greenland on June 17, 2017.
A blog post published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) on June 19, 2017, confirmed that a massive landslide triggered the deadly tsunami in Greenland on June 17, 2017. The landslide sent millions of cubic meters of rock into the Karrat Fjord, generating a wave over 90 meters high that devastated the village of Nuugaatsiaq.
The Guardian, in its June 19, 2017 report, stated that the remote Greenland settlement of Nuugaatsiaq was struck by large waves on June 17-18, leaving four people missing after severe flooding swept through the village. According to Danish officials, the waves were likely triggered by a landslide, possibly caused by a magnitude-4 tremor, into nearby coastal waters. The settlement was evacuated, and nearby communities, including Illorsuit and Uummannaq, were also impacted.
Video 2
An X user sharing the video of the collapse inside a store, which trapped a woman, wrote, “An 8.7 magnitude earthquake occurred in Russia, footage from the moment of the earthquake.” (Archive)
Media outlet Lokmat Times Nagpur also shared the video, linking it to the devastation caused by the earthquake in Russia. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that this claim is also false, as the video shows the store collapsing after an earthquake struck in Myanmar in March 2025.
Upon a reverse image search of the keyframes of the video, we found the footage published on YouTube on April 20. According to the channel, the video shows a store in Myanmar destroyed by an Earthquake.
The Azerbaijani news portal Day.Az published a video on March 30, reporting it to be CCTV footage from a shop in Mandalay, near the epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar.
The Daily Mail published the video on March 31, stating that a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake near the city of Mandalay in war-torn Myanmar had killed at least 144 people and injured 732 others.
Therefore, we conclude that both videos are old and are being falsely linked to the earthquake that hit Russia on July 30.
