Octopus Fell from Sky During Tornado in China: Fact Check

Story:

In China, Octopus Fell from Sky During Tornado

Other Versions

Octopus Fell from Sky during Powerful Storm

Fact Check:

A strange story in wide circulation on social media sites purports to show an Octopus Fell from Sky During Tornado in China. The image actually spread from China-based microblogging service Weibo during massive storm in Qingdao Province. So many viewers went on to believe the story. The claim that an Octopus Fell from Sky in China is however not true.

It is a fact that in mid-June 2018 a massive rainstorm hit the coastal city of Qingdao in eastern China. The picture story saying an Octopus Fell from Sky went viral on social media after it appeared on Weibo.com.

Octopus Fell from Sky in China?

With only seven arms (tentacles), what you see is in fact a stock photograph of Octopus cast which was imposed onto a rainy background scene. The Octopus is not real – so the claim that an Octopus Fell from Sky in China is a hoax. Nonetheless, the story does refer to an unusual phenomenon that occurred in Qingdao during the massive rainstorm.

Violent weather phenomena caused what scientists call the ‘Rain of animals’. Residents witnessed sea creatures like Starfish and Prawns splatted against car windscreens. They shared photos of the ‘seafood rain’ on social media saying they have seen such unusual phenomenon for the first time.

The Chinese Meteorological Administration, China’s national weather agency, confirmed that a number of sea creatures were blown ashore by the massive rainstorm. They also mentioned such phenomenon is not unheard of, adding it is common for Tornados to suck up water and fish from rivers and drop them miles away. On the other hand, it is also possible the seafood is blown from nearby market stalls during the extraordinary rainstorm in Qingdao, China. Coming to the actual story again, it is just a humorous post that went viral on social media.

Hoax or Fact:

Hoax.