Daytona Speedway Water Flooded from Hurricane Matthew: Fact Check

Story:

Daytona International Speedway is Flooded with Water from Hurricane Matthew.

Other Versions

1. Daytona is under water! Praying for the people in the path.

2. Photo of Daytona International Speedway. #HurricaneMatthew.

Fact Check:

A photograph doing rounds on social media sites purports to show that the well known NASCAR track Daytona International Speedway is Flooded with water from the recent Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 and some netizens even went on to pray for the people in the path. The claim, however, is not a fact; the photograph is an old one from 2009.

Picture about Daytona International Speedway Flooded with Water from Hurricane Matthew — Daytona International Speedway Flooded with Water from Hurricane Matthew

On 3 October 2016 Florida Governor declared that Hurricane Matthew is life threatening and approaching Florida and that the National Guard was preparing for the state of emergency. Soon after officials announced that the NASCAR track would close for some time and all events shall be cancelled or rescheduled. In between these announcements the picture and the story circulating on social media got much attention, and many viewers actually thought the Daytona International Speedway is in fact flooded with water from the devastating Hurricane Matthew.

NASCAR announced that the Daytona International Speedway experienced moderate damage from Hurricane Matthew with impacts to lights, speakers, signage, fences, gates, awnings and palm trees, but it was not as severe as shown in the picture. The photograph in fact dates back to May 2009 when massive storms and torrential rains hit all of Florida. So the claim associated to the picture that NASCAR’s Daytona International Speedway is flooded with water from Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 is a hoax.