Tropical Storm Hillary's heavy rain and flooding, which has already battered the Baja Peninsula in Mexico killing one person, is expected to bring havoc to the West Coast with a state of emergency declared across most of Southern California.
Record-breaking levels of rain and dangerous flash floods are being seen in the storm's path. Hilary is the first tropical storm to make landfall in California in 84 years.
On Sunday, Palm Springs, out in the Sonoran Desert, recorded 2.06 inches of rainfall between midnight and around 4.30 p.m local time, a record for the date, Governor Gavin Newsom said at a news conference.
As the state attempts to prepare for further downpours and disruption, a video was posted online described showing the Los Angeles subway system bursting with floodwater.
The Claim
A video posted by @Potato_Event on X, formerly Twitter, on August 20, 2023, viewed 45,000 times, showed water bursting from what looked like the inside of a building.
The tweet stated: "#BREAKING: The LA metro system is #flooding #HurricaneHillary #LosAngeles | #California"
#BREAKING: The LA metro system is #flooding #HurricaneHillary #LosAngeles | #California pic.twitter.com/SCnxSBRMlH
— Ivan Maltsev (@Potato_Event) August 20, 2023
The Facts
The video was widely shared across social media as floodwater reports and warnings began circulating. The video does show a section of what looks like a subway track being flooded, with a rail network map and ticket barriers in the background of the clip.
However, the video shared on X is misleading.
The clip is not of the city's subway system. The video also doesn't look like it's shot from a subway carriage, more like an open cart or trolley.
This was expanded upon later by the Metro Los Angeles official X account which, responding to another post of the same video, wrote "This is a ride at Universal Studios. Duh."
The ride in question was the "Disaster!" ride (previously known as "Earthquake!"). Although it no longer exists, videos of the ride can still be found on YouTube.
The ride showed visitors how practical special effects for films are used, including the demonstration in the subway-style section.
Although it may look convincing, the effects were entirely artificial.
Tropical Storm Hilary has maximum wind speeds of around 40 mph, the National Weather Service shows, and is drenching much of Southern California.
Other areas of the state experienced record-breaking rainfall on Sunday, with the weather station for Los Angeles at the University of Southern California measuring 1.53 inches, smashing the record for the same date of 0.03 inches measured in 1906.
The Ruling
False.
This video does not show the LA Metro flooding after Tropical Storm Hilary. The video is of a now-closed ride at the Universal Studios theme park called "Disaster!" which demonstrated the use of practical effects in filming, including the artificial flooding of a replica subway platform.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
