Did Alaska’s HAARP cause Colombia earthquake? Fact-check debunks viral claim

A conspiracy theory linking an Alaska-based research programme to the deadly earthquake in western Colombia has resurfaced on social media, with posts falsely claiming that the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP, triggered the disaster.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 270 people and causing widespread damage. However, experts and seismic data indicate that the earthquake was caused by natural movements in the Earth's crust, not human activity.

What caused the Colombia earthquake?

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was primarily caused by "strike-slip faulting", a process in which two sections of the Earth's crust move horizontally past each other.

The earthquake occurred in Colombia's Pacific region, which lies along the Ring of Fire, a zone around the Pacific Ocean where many of the world's earthquakes occur.

"No human endeavour caused this earthquake," said Suzan Van der Lee, a seismologist and professor at Northwestern University, NDTV reported. "The Colombia earthquake occurred in a region with many natural earthquakes."

Van der Lee said human activity, including gas extraction and wastewater injection, can sometimes trigger small- to moderate-magnitude earthquakes in shallow parts of the Earth's crust. But the Colombia earthquake occurred at a depth of 110 kilometres, which she said was at least 10 times deeper than any earthquake caused by humans.

What is HAARP?

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has operated HAARP since 2015. The programme was previously run by the US military, which continues to own the land where the facility is located.

HAARP studies physical processes in the upper atmosphere, particularly the thermosphere and ionosphere. Researchers use high-frequency radio transmitters to heat small areas of the upper atmosphere and observe the resulting effects.

The facility's Ionospheric Research Instrument (IRI), described as the world's most powerful high-frequency radio transmitter, has frequently featured in conspiracy theories surrounding HAARP.

The programme has been the subject of such claims since its construction began in the early 1990s. Apart from earthquakes, conspiracy theories have also falsely linked HAARP to mind control and weather manipulation.

Experts reject HAARP earthquake claim

Dean Whitman, a geophysicist at Florida International University, said there is no scientific basis for linking HAARP's radio transmissions to earthquakes.

"I can confidently state that there is ZERO physical basis for radio-frequency transmissions having any effects on the occurrence of earthquakes," Whitman was quoted as saying by NDTV, calling claims about HAARP's supposed impact "ridiculous."

He noted that the energy released by the Colombia earthquake was "much larger than that released by even the largest hydrogen bombs" and "millions of times larger than the energy produced by the HAARP array."

HAARP's equipment also points upward, while earthquakes occur deep beneath the Earth's surface. Whitman said the electromagnetic waves produced by the transmitters involve different physics and cannot cause earthquakes.

Search and rescue operations in Colombia were continuing, while aid from regional partners began arriving in the country on Wednesday.