Mudslide Horror Miscast: Viral Video Falsely Tied to Sri Lanka!

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Although Cyclone Ditwah left Sri Lanka with a trail of destruction in many districts, the country continues to grapple with devastating after-effects. Landslides were reported from numerous areas, and heartbreaking scenes of areas flooded and filled with mud went viral on social media.

In this background, a video showing several vehicles on a road completely submerged in mud went viral. Let’s look at the claim in detail.

Social Media Posts:

A haunting video, purportedly depicting scenes from Sri Lanka’s recent catastrophe, captures vehicles swallowed by thick layers of mud, a stark reminder of nature’s unforgiving force.

Facebook

Another similar video was shared with a different background narration as follows.

Facebook

We took steps to investigate the credibility of these posts, based on reader requests to verify the accuracy.

Fact Check :

We checked with social media and mainstream media to see if the above-mentioned footage had been reported from any region of the country. However, we were unable to find any such footage.

A series of images was reported from Haiti a month ago!

Accordingly, we submitted the video frames to a Reverse Image search, and we confirmed that the footage is not recent and was actually depicting the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa in Petit-Goave, a coastal town in Haiti, a month ago, in late October.

You can refer to some videos published regarding this incident here and here.

Some footage and photographs of those vehicles being washed away by mud were also posted a month ago, as follows.

AFP/Getty Images has also published a photo of the incident, describing how cars were stuck in mud in the town of Petit-Goave, Haiti, after Hurricane Melissa ravaged the area on October 30, 2025.

AFP | Getty

Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba in late October 2025, killing at least 75 people across Haiti and Jamaica. In Petit-Gauve, Haiti, thousands were displaced by flooding. Reports on the situation are here and here.

Landslides in Sri Lanka also caused many deaths and property losses

Landslides in several areas, including Peradeniya, Alawathugoda, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Badulla and other areas were reported through the media and social media.

In particular, the media reported the following images of several vehicles being buried under soil due to a landslide on the Badulla-Mahiyangana road. https://youtu.be/C_lddwmIneM?t=28

However, the Disaster Management Centre, National Building Research Institute (NBRI) and other parties have been continuously reporting regarding landslide warnings through the media over the past few weeks, informing the public.

But, even under such circumstances, there have been reports of some tragic incidents due to failure to evacuate from risky areas in a timely manner despite warnings.

Note:

As responsible citizens of society, in the face of such catastrophic circumstances, we at Fact Crescendo kindly request you to refrain from misleading the public on particularly sensitive issues, spreading false news based on past or current events in other countries, or through creations made by AI. We remind you again to always share only verified information.

Join us to learn more about our investigative fact findings.

Conclusion :

Our investigation confirms that the footage, which was shared showing some vehicles submerged in mud due to landslides, is not footage from Sri Lanka.

Although similar situations have been reported in some parts of Sri Lanka, the above-mentioned social media post was shared with a Sinhala narration and misleading interpretation, falsely linking it to the tragedy in the country. However, we found that the footage was from a tragic situation that occurred in Haiti, a country located in the Caribbean, in late October 2025.