Home / Disasters and Accidents / Sumatra Floods: Bridge Collapse Video Misled Millions
Sumatra Floods: Bridge Collapse Video Misled Millions
8 Dec, 2025
Summary
- A viral video of a bridge collapse was wrongly attributed to Indonesian floods.
- The footage actually depicts a bridge destroyed in Vietnam on November 20.
- Thousands displaced and nearly a thousand dead in actual Sumatra floods.
Devastating flash floods and landslides struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, displacing over 800,000 people and claiming at least 950 lives, with 274 still missing. Amidst this crisis, a video circulating online falsely claimed to show a bridge collapse in Sibolga city, Sumatra. However, investigations revealed the footage is from central Vietnam, where a suspension bridge was washed away by floodwaters on November 20.
The viral video, shared widely on social media platforms, superimposed text suggesting it captured an event in Indonesia. This misinformation surfaced as Sumatra grappled with immense destruction, with victims criticizing the government's response. The extreme weather systems affecting Indonesia were part of a broader pattern across Asia, exacerbated by climate change and deforestation.
Further examination of the video revealed Vietnamese road signs, identifying the collapsed structure as the Phu Thien Bridge in Lam Dong Province. This bridge was confirmed to have been swept away by floodwaters on November 20. While Sumatra did experience damaged bridges, the widely shared video originated from a separate disaster in Vietnam.
