WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A video shows the aftermath of panic buying in Australia as a result of the fuel crisis.
OUR VERDICT
False. The video shows empty supermarket shelves caused by flooding.
AAP FACTCHECK - A video showing a near-empty supermarket does not depict the aftermath of panic-buying linked to the fuel crisis, despite claims circulating online.
The footage from a Coles supermarket in Darwin shows empty shelves after flooding cut off key supply routes.
"Australia has completely run out of gasoline and now the panic buying has begun," one Facebook post sharing the video reads.
"It won't be long before the home invasions begin and they find out what a strength diversity is."
The video also appeared on X from an account consistently posting about the war in Iran.
The video depicts two women expressing their amazement at the empty supermarket shelves.
"There's nothing," one of the women says. "Look at the shelves here, in Darwin."
AAP FactCheck used key frames from the video to conduct a reverse image search, revealing the clip was first posted on TikTok on March 8.
The second woman in the video posted a similar video on TikTok the same day in the same supermarket.
In this video, the woman explains that flooding has closed roads leading to Darwin, resulting in bare shelves across the supermarket.
The clip was also reported on by Yahoo and the Daily Mail, which both explained it showed the impact of flooding on supply chains.
One of the women in the original video also posted about the impact of the floods on Instagram and TikTok.
The day the video was released, an ABC report confirmed a major freight route responsible for Darwin's food supply, the Stuart Highway, was impacted by floods and had resulted in bare supermarket shelves.
Contrary to the claim, Australia has not run out of "gasoline", the American term for petrol.
The most recent information on Australia's domestic reserves, from March 24, indicates the country had 39 days of petrol and 30 days of diesel and jet fuel, respectively.
These figures indicate how many days worth of fuel are in the country, including shipments within Australia's exclusive economic zone, based on normal rates of consumption.
Global fuel levels have been impacted by the Iran war.
Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a water channel through which roughly 20 per cent of global oil supplies pass.
Australia receives an average 81 oil shipments per month and, at the time of writing, only six of those shipments have been cancelled, according to Energy Minister Chris Bowen.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, BlueSky, TikTok and YouTube.
