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Media being glowie tools would of course run cover stories according to some pre-set routine to maintain social order if there was an unexpected event, so they can't be trusted. But it would give some indication.
If things changed drastically, causing a dimensional split, it would also be impossible to know what took place if you were moved yourself to a parallel dimension where it didn't change, unless using extra-sensory abilities. So that makes it difficult to determine if something did happen.
People who were in the location where water supposedly flooded the place, would either be dead or moved to a safe location by the federation or maintenance deities, so they can't tell anyone about it.
This all would create an information shadow where nothing about the event can be known.