WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Videos show breaking footage of extreme weather events in Australia today.
OUR VERDICT
False. The videos show weather events other countries or in the past.
AAP FACTCHECK - Old footage of extreme weather overseas is being manipulated and shared on social media with false claims that it's live video of storms hitting major Australian cities.
The dramatic clips show weather events overseas and in Australia that happened either months or years ago.
One Facebook video, posted on September 8, 2025, features multiple clips of wild weather, overlaid with text that reads: "Tropical cyclone alfred is making landfall in brisbane, australia Rightnow!"
Tropical Cyclone Alfred, however, made landfall near Brisbane in March 2025, as reported by the Bureau of Meteorology.
The Facebook video features several clips, the first of which shows a strip of buildings being battered by heavy rain and wind.
A reverse image search reveals the clip is a vertically squeezed version of footage posted on YouTube showing Typhoon Marce hitting the northern Philippines 10 months ago.
The storm, also known as Typhoon Yinxing, battered the region in November 2024, according to The Associated Press.
The same buildings seen in the video can clearly be viewed in the Philippine municipality of Santa Ana on Google Street View.
Another post from the same account on September 9, 2025, is captioned "Thunderstorm and heavy rainfall hits sydney australia last night" and features the date September 8, 2025.
"BREAKING NEWS" flashes up over footage of a tram on a flooded street.
A reverse image search revealed the clip actually shows flooding in Sydney on January 15, 2025, and it was posted on the content marketplace Newsflare at the time.
Severe thunderstorm cells hit the city and parts of the state's northeast at that time, ABC News reported.
Google Street View confirms that the clip was filmed near the Palace Hotel and the Capitol Theatre on Hay Street in central Sydney.
A sign visible in the video (timestamp eight seconds) also advertises a performance of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, which ran at the theatre between November 2024 and January 2025.
The same user claims a separate Facebook video shows wind ripping a window and its frame from a building in Sydney on September 9, 2025.
"Super typhoon hits Sydney, Australia today 110 mph winds," the caption reads.
A reverse image search traced the footage to Super Typhoon Yagi, which swept through China's Hainan Province in September 2024.
The same clip appeared in multiple news reports shared on YouTube and Instagram in 2024.
In another post, the account shared a video containing several wild weather clips with the caption: "Storm hits new south wales, australia with 140 mph winds today."
The overlaid text reads "Today! Omg jesus" and has the date September 7, 2025.
However, reverse image searches reveal the clips are manipulated versions of videos from past weather events overseas.
The first clip showing a large bin being swept through a car park by strong winds is a flipped version of a video of a tornado hitting Florida's Hobe Sound in June 2024, which was posted on YouTube and published by Newsflare.
Another clip (0:17) showing debris flying through the air above a car park is a flipped version of footage of Super Typhoon Jebi hitting Japan in September 2018.
The footage was posted on YouTube, Chinese social platform QQ, and Russia's PrimaMedia at the time.
The next clip (0:20) showing heavy rain and wind tearing through a car park isn't from NSW; it's a hailstorm lashing Chiang Mai in northern Thailand in March 2023.
The same clip was posted to YouTube at the time, and the storm was reported by Reuters and local newspaper The Nation.
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