August 20, 2026 | 12:18 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A video showing massive waves crashing against the shore has been circulating on Facebook [archive], Instagram, and X since August 15, 2026.
Social media posts claimed the waves showed a tsunami following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) region on Saturday, August 15, 2026. "A tsunami hit Labuan Bajo this afternoon following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake," wrote one account on Saturday, August 15, 2026.
Did the tsunami shown in the video actually occur in NTT?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified the content using reverse image searches and by cross-referencing credible media reports. The event shown in the video was not a tsunami in NTT, but rather the aftermath of Super Typhoon Fung-wong in Aurora Province, Philippines.
Video Verification
The video has been circulating online since 2025. Tempo found that two Facebook accounts, 102.5 Brigada News FM CdeO and Ka Nillo, had uploaded the identical video on November 9, 2025. Footage of the same event was also broadcast by TVRI.
Both accounts reported that the towering waves were triggered by Typhoon Uwan (also known as Typhoon Fung-wong), which struck the coast of Dinalungan, Aurora, Philippines.
The Associated Press reported that the typhoon, packing sustained winds of 185 km/h and gusts reaching 230 km/h, generated massive waves along the coastline. The powerful storm killed at least two people and forced more than a million others to evacuate areas vulnerable to flooding and landslides.
Earthquake and Tsunami Warning in NTT
The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) was struck by a magnitude 7.7 tectonic earthquake on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at 4:58 a.m. WIB. BMKG analysis placed the epicenter at a depth of 15 km at sea, located 30 km northeast of Nagekeo. The earthquake was triggered by fault activity along the Flores Back-Arc Thrust.
The BMKG issued a tsunami warning for waves between 0.5 and 3 meters across four areas placed on alert: northern Manggarai, northern Ngada, Ende, and East Flores. BMKG monitoring detected minor tsunami waves, under one meter, at ten coastal locations, including Sikka, East Flores, Labuan Bajo, and Baubau. The BMKG officially lifted the tsunami early warning at 7:30 a.m. WIB.
Records of tsunami waves at 10 coastal points detected following the NTT earthquake on Saturday, August 15, 2026. [Source: BMKG]
Nelly Florida Riama, the BMKG Deputy for Geophysics, explained that the agency identified the shallow earthquake (15 km depth) as stemming from movement along the Flores Back-Arc Thrust.
CONCLUSION
Tempo concludes that the video claiming to show a tsunami following the NTT earthquake is false. The footage was actually recorded during Super Typhoon Fung-wong on November 9, 2025.
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