A tectonic weapon is a hypothetical device or system which could trigger earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or other seismic events in specified locations by interfering with the Earth's natural geological processes.
[4] Roger Clark, lecturer in geophysics at Leeds University said in the journal Nature in 1996, responding to a newspaper report that there had been two secret Soviet programs, "Mercury" and "Volcano", aimed at developing a "tectonic weapon" that could set off earthquakes from great distance by manipulating electromagnetism, said "We don't think it is impossible, or wrong, but past experience suggests it is very unlikely".
[8] Nikola Tesla claimed a small (something "you could put in your overcoat pocket") steam-powered mechanical oscillator he was experimenting with in 1898 produced earthquake-like effects, but this has never been replicated.
[10] After natural tectonic phenomena such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, conspiracy theories, usually relating to the armed forces of the United States and formerly the Soviet Union (USSR), often arise, though no evidence is advanced.
After the Haiti earthquake it was widely reported that president Hugo Chávez of Venezuela made unsupported allegations that it had been caused by testing of a US tectonic weapon.