Fact Check: Viral photo of the flood is not from Bihar but Australia

The flood situation continues to be grim in Bihar as the calamity affected a population of 80.55 lakh in 12 districts of the state. Meanwhile, a photo showing houses submerged in the floodwater is being widely shared on social media. It is being claimed that the image is of the Bihar floods.

India Today TV's Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the viral image is not from Bihar but Australia where the flood had wreaked havoc in February this year.

The archived version of the post can be seen here.

Among others, a Facebook page "Bihar se hai" shared the image with the caption: "Ignored by people, not a big issue, no help coz its Bihar, not Mumbai or Kerala. Sad reality! Bihar is drowning."

The post was shared by more than 8,700 times by the time of filing this article.

We ran a reverse search on the image and found the same image used by several news websites reporting Australia floods. Northeast Australia faced devastating floods in February this year.

We also found the same image in a news article with the picture credited to "Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images".

We found the image on the website of Getty Images with the caption: "TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 04: Seen is a general view of the flooded Townsville suburb of Idalia on February 04, 2019 in Townsville, Australia. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned Townsville residents that flooding has not yet reached its peak as torrential rain continues. The continued inundation forced authorities to open the floodgates on the swollen Ross River dam on Sunday night."

The floodwaters in Bihar have forced millions of people to evacuate their homes. Relief and rehabilitation measures are running in full swing. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also launched a drive under which over Rs 180 crore were disbursed among flood-affected people through direct cash transfer.

It is clear that the viral image is nearly five-months-old and not of Bihar floods.