A video shared on X purports to show water swaying back and forth during a recent earthquake in Taiwan.

💔Video: A Taiwanese driver stopped their car during today’s earthquake and observed river water swaying back and forth.#Taipei | #Taiwan #Earthquake #Tsunami #TaiwanEarthquake #China #ishigaki #Hualien #Japan #Terremoto #Okinawa pic.twitter.com/WMznCWDFTF

— Ṩaͥϻeͣeͫℝa 𝒞𝒽a𝓊𝒹𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓎ᵀᴼᴵᴷ (@ch_295) April 3, 2024

Verdict: False

The original video, also shared on X, shows water swaying back and forth during a Jan. 1 earthquake that struck Japan. The country experienced a 7.6-magnitude earthquake, according to Reuters.

Fact Check:

Over 400 people “remain stranded” following a recent 5.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Taiwan, according to The Associated Press. The natural disaster killed at least nine people and injured more than 900 others, Reuters reported.

“Video: A Taiwanese driver stopped their car during today’s earthquake and observed river water swaying back and forth,” the X video’s caption reads. In the video, viewed over 1,000 times, water can be seen swaying back and forth just off the side of a road.

The claim is false. The original video, also shared on X, shows water swaying back and forth during a Jan. 1 earthquake that struck Japan. “While I was driving from Kanazawa to my parents’ house in Toyama, I received an earthquake alert,” a translation of the video’s caption reads in part. “The water in the river beside me is swaying violently,” it continues.

急遽、金沢から富山の実家に車で向かっている最中に📱地震速報😱
砺波⇔小杉の中間点かな？
三合🚥付近

🚗の中でもめちゃ揺れているのが分かる💦

皆んなハザードランプ付けて止まっていたんだけど更に津波警報🚨

横に見える川の水が凄く揺れてる🫨

怖かった💦💦💦

今は無事に実家に到着してます‼️ pic.twitter.com/0tkaakEnMG

— Z女りえ (@rie894) January 1, 2024

According to Reuters, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Japan on Jan. 1, killing at least one person. The earthquake “was the strongest quake in the region in more than four decades,” the outlet reported, citing the U.S. Geological Survey. (RELATED: Video Shows Demolition, Not Taiwan Earthquake)

Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find the X video referenced in any credible news reports about the recent earthquake that struck Taiwan. In fact, the opposite is true. On April 4, News Meter reported the X video showed the Jan. 1 earthquake in Japan, not the recent earthquake in Taiwan.

Additionally, the video is neither referenced on the website of Taiwan’s National Fire Agency/Ministry of the Interior nor its verified X account.

Check Your Fact has contacted Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.