Cyclone Ditwah recently caused severe devastation in Sri Lanka, resulting in more than 400 confirmed deaths and hundreds of people missing.
Amid the tragedy, an image has been widely shared on social media, purportedly depicting the cyclone’s impact on Sri Lanka.
The photo features a partially built concrete structure with exposed steel rods submerged in floodwaters, while a row of apartment buildings is visible in the background.
An Instagram post by hindustanwave shared the image with a caption: “At least 198 people killed in Sri Lanka after landslips and flooding caused by Cyclone Ditwah, officials said on Saturday (November 29, 2025), with 191 others missing and more than half a million affected nationwide…”
Similar posts were shared on social media with the image. You can view the post here, here and here.
NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile verified the above claim and found it to be MISLEADING.
The Reverse Image Search of the viral photo detects a post by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on X, dated September 27, 2025, featuring the same visual.
The GHMC’s post read: “GHMC Commissioner R.V. Karnan, accompanied by engineering and other departmental officials, inspected the new bridge construction over the Musi river near Moosarambagh. Given the heavy flow of the Musi river due to recent rains, the team inquired about the situation on the ground…” The team had located a video posted by Deccan Chronicle on X, dated September 27, showing the rising water levels of the Musi River in Hyderabad.
The accompanying caption reads: “#Hyderabad | Heavy rains raise Musi river levels. Authorities begin evacuation from low-lying areas. #Telangana.”
Therefore, it is clear that an old photograph from Hyderabad has gone viral falsely claiming it is the flooding in Sri Lanka following Cyclone Ditwah.
