It’s hurricane season, which means that the devastation wrought by such storms is in the news again. Most recently, Hurricane Hilary on the West Coast was the focal point of numerous stories, with channels showing images of felled trees and damaged homes. Thankfully, deaths related to the storm were few, with only two fatalities linked to the storm.

At the same time, a new filter came to prominence on TikTok: the hurricane filter. For those who were lucky enough to not be dramatically impacted by Hilary, they can now pretend that they were right in the middle of the storm, trying to save their possessions as water overtook their homes. How fun!

@sailingafterglow Im cracking up at Isla just walking around under water though #hurricanehillary #boatlife #sailboat #sinkingsailboat #sailing #sailinglife #sailboatliving #liveaboard #hurricane #hurricaneseason #underwater #submerged #filter #fyp ♬ original sound - Steve Jara402

@brooklynblue77 #hurricane #hilary #californiarain #boss #flooded #stormscoming #filters ♬ original sound - tamanthablue

Some even used this filter to pull terrifying pranks.

@desareefraser Didnt know this filter was that believable #hurricanehilary #hurricaneinla #hurricanehilaryupdates #hurricanehilarycaliforina #hurricane #hurricanehilary2023 #hurricaneupdate #submerged ♬ Deli - Ice Spice

@christinem00n I wonder if these filters would work for car and renters insurance claims #fyp #submerged #hurricanhilary #hurricanehillary #hurricane #flooding #flood #flashflood #tornado #hurricaneolaf #drowning #storm #losangeles ♬ original sound - xtinemoon

Of course, some of these videos look more realistic than others, but few would be fooled if you actually tried to use something like this to call out of work (lord knows Waffle House would still try to make you come in even if it were real).

Surprisingly, the highest flood in recent U.S. history happened not in a typical hurricane region, but in St. Louis. “On August 1st, 1993, the Mississippi River at St. Louis crested at 49.58 feet, the highest stage ever recorded,” writes the National Weather Service. The piece also notes that “some locations on the Mississippi River were in flood for almost 200 days while locations on the Missouri neared 100 days of flooding.” Another reason to not visit St. Lous (just kidding, all my weird pizza-loving brethren).

However, if you’re really trying to get out of work by saying that you were affected by a hurricane, flood water usually isn’t as clear as the filters make it out to be. To be more convincing, cover your floor in rocks and dirt to make the filter look as authentic as possible. Your house might be a mess, but your believability will be spotless.