Exploiting Tragedy to Promote Conspiracy Theories: Haarp Did Not Cause the Floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Photo: Raskrinkavanje.ba Heavy rainfall during the night of October 3–4, 2024, caused major floods and landslides in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the municipalities of Jablanica, Konjic, Fojnica, Kiseljak, and Kresevo. According to media reports, 23 people lost their lives, and many are still missing. The material damage is enormous, and several settlements were completely cut off (link). While the media, humanitarian organizations, and officials were calling for solidarity and sharing appeals for help for the affected areas, conspiracy theorists on social media began sharing “alternative” explanations for the natural disaster that struck these areas. By the afternoon of October 4, a video about HAARP in English began circulating widely. The description insinuates that this “weather control technology” caused the floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina and/or the region:

Are the current catastrophic floods caused by new technologies? Elana Freeland: “Through this technology (HAARP), humans can create extreme weather conditions such as storms, hail, floods, and droughts. This is only one of the seven functions it can perform”

By the date of writing this analysis, various versions of the claim that the floods affecting Bosnia and Herzegovina were artificially induced with the help of HAARP have been posted on social media (1, 2, 3).

Nonsense about HAARP

HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) is a high-frequency, high-power transmitter in Alaska, USA. The University of Alaska (UAF) uses it to conduct scientific research on the ionosphere. Since the U.S. military collaborated with the University of Alaska on the HAARP project in the 1990s, this large radio transmitter has been a target of numerous conspiracy theories for decades, which have been addressed in previous analyses available here, here, and here. Conspiracy theorists believe that HAARP can control the weather and cause storms, floods, earthquakes, and even mind control. It seems that almost every natural disaster in the region or the world is accompanied on social media by claims that HAARP caused it. Contrary to these claims, HAARP has no capability to control the weather or cause earthquakes. It is a facility used to study physical processes in the ionosphere and thermosphere. The University of Alaska’s website explains the following:

The ionosphere begins at about 60 to 80 km above sea level and extends above 500 km. In the ionosphere, there are free electrons and ions that radio waves can interact with. HAARP radio waves heat electrons and create small perturbations similar to interactions that occur in nature. Natural phenomena are random and often difficult to observe. With HAARP, scientists can control when and where disturbances occur to measure their effects. In addition, they can repeat experiments to confirm that the measurements accurately reflect the researchers’ intentions.

The HAARP facility essentially functions as a giant radio transmitter. The University of Alaska’s website clarifies, likely to debunk conspiracy theories, that HAARP cannot control the weather, as the radio waves it emits are not absorbed in the stratosphere or troposphere—the two layers of Earth’s atmosphere that produce weather conditions. Thus, the radio waves from HAARP do not interact with atmospheric layers that influence the weather. For the purpose of writing an article about HAARP conspiracy theories published on August 24, 2022, AAP Fact-check spoke with Professor Fred Menk from the Department of Physics at the University of Newcastle, an expert in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Menk explained the following:

“High-frequency radio transmissions interact with ionized particles—electrons—in the ionosphere, above 100 km altitude. Ground weather is determined by geophysical effects, mainly solar heating, on the neutral atmosphere much closer to the surface”, Menk said. There are many high-frequency transmitters worldwide that direct medium- or high-power signals into the ionosphere. They are used for long-range broadcasting and other purposes, such as monitoring (radars) and observing ionosphere conditions. None of this can affect daily weather. Any such claim is nonsense. (...) In short, there is a significant gap between the air (visible weather) and the ionosphere. The International Space Station orbits at 400 km, in the ionosphere, and it certainly doesn’t rain up there”, said Professor Menk.

Therefore, conspiracy theories about controlling weather or causing storms, floods, and earthquakes with HAARP are entirely unfounded in facts and reality.

How do floods occur?

Flooding happens when water overflows or saturates land that is usually dry. This can occur due to heavy rainfall (which can cause a river to overflow), dam breaks, large sea waves that flood coastal areas, or rapid ice melt in nearby mountains. It is one of the most common natural disasters that can affect any part of the world. Sometimes it takes hours or even days for flooding to develop, while other times it happens quickly. Various factors can increase flood risk and worsen its effects, including deforestation, sand mining, improper waste disposal, and more. According to the Adriatic Sea Watershed Agency, 324 liters of rain per square meter fell in Jablanica during the night of October 3–4. Meteorologist Nedim Sladic told N1 on October 6 that this amount of rainfall is usually recorded over three to four months. The public, media, and experts have been questioning for days whether preventive measures could have mitigated the destructive impact of these floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina and what contributed to them. One of the hardest-hit places was Donja Jablanica, a village above which a quarry collapsed onto residents and their homes on the night of October 3–4. The government of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton has opened an investigation into the quarry, stating that they did not issue a concession for its operation (link). Experts interviewed by local media in recent days agree that human factors contributed to the disaster, including deforestation, inadequate urban planning, and government negligence (link, link). In the coming period, it will be necessary to analyze the factors that led to the catastrophic floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina and demand accountability from the relevant institutions. However, spreading absurd conspiracy theories about HAARP allegedly causing floods in Jablanica, Fojnica, or Kiseljak from Alaska is not only factually baseless but also counterproductive and malicious. It represents an unscrupulous exploitation of tragedy to promote conspiracy theories, which ultimately not only introduces additional panic and unrest to the public but also distracts from any real irregularities and failures that may have led to the tragedy. Based on the facts, we rate the claim that the floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina were artificial as well as that HAARP is involved, as a conspiracy theory. The same applies to the claim that HAARP can create or does create extreme weather conditions. (Author: Nerma Šehović, Raskrinkavanje.ba)