Viral video does not show Sialkot flooding

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image find the original source.

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X on August 27, 2025, shared a video showing fast-flowing waters passing through a narrow alley and claimed that the clip was of Sialkot in Punjab. However, the video is at least two weeks old and shared before the current inundation in the city.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Sialkot witnessed the highest amount of rainfall in the last 49 years on August 26. The city recorded 363.5 millimetres of rain, surpassing the 339.7mm it received on Aug 6, 1976.

Subsequently, the city was submerged. In a news report on Aug 28, the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted the deputy commissioner of Sialkot as saying that five people had lost their lives due to flooding, while there was a risk of further casualties.

HOW IT STARTED

On Aug 27, an X account shared a video showing gushing water flowing through a narrow alley, on both sides of which were brick homes. People can also be seen peaking through their homes.

The caption of the post said: “Dear Pakistanis! This scene is not from a village in Gilgit-Baltistan, KP or Swat, but from the streets of Punjab’s famous city, Sialkot. See how the flood has wreaked havoc. May Allah protect us all.

“The tragedy is that neither the public takes precautionary measures, nor does the government or administration take any serious steps.”

The post quickly amassed 74,200 views and 1,300 likes.

Similarly, Pakistani digital news platform Ibex Media Network shared the video with the caption: “On Tuesday, Sialkot, Punjab, was hit by torrential rains that shattered an 11-year record, submerging large sections of the city and triggering severe urban flooding. More than 335 millimetres of rainfall were recorded, leaving low-lying areas submerged as water accumulated in streets and localities.”

The video was also shared by Indian journalist Aditya Raj Kaul with the caption, “massive floods in Sialkot, Punjab of Pakistan”. It racked up 177,700 views and was shared more than 500 times.

Bharat Express, an Indian news outlet, shared the video from its verified X handle, alleging that it showed severe flooding in Sialkot following rains.

Other users, including PTI supporters and an online news outlet, on X shared the video with the same claim that it showed flooding in Sialkot as well, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here.

The video, attributed to the situation in Sialkot, was widely shared on other platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, too, as seen here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality, increasing circulation and keen public interest in the damage from the recent flooding in Punjab.

A reverse image search revealed that the video was shared as far back as at least Aug 15 without being associated with Sialkot, whereas the situation in the city worsened this week, as can be seen here, here, here, here and here in videos shared between Aug 15 and 24.

The actual location and occurrence of the video could not be conclusively determined since it was uploaded with no details in captions.

Furthermore, users in comments variously claimed it was from Buner, Swat, Kasur and India with no further clarity on whether it was rainwater inundation or through floodwaters.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows the flood situation in Sialkot is false.

The clip has been shared as far back as Aug 15 while the recent inundation in the city from rainwater and floodwaters occurred in the week beginning Aug 25.