Their findings suggest that cutting down trees on steep slopes may increase the risk of not only landslides but earthquakes in heavily deforested places such as Haiti, which suffered a devastating magnitude 7 quake in 2010.

" The 2010 earthquake in Haiti occurred... 18 months after the same area was hit by two tropical storms and two hurricanes," he said. " It can happen in other mountainous areas affected by cyclones, such as Japan, the Philippines, and maybe Central America,"

Geologists have previously discounted the idea.

New study suggests a different mechanism based on changes to the weight of soil and other ground material bearing down on a geological fault under seismic stress.

" Very wet rain events are the trigger. The heavy rain induces thousands of landslides and severe erosion, which removes ground material from the Earth's surface, releasing the stress and encouraging movement along faults."

Dr Wdowinski said an analysis of the timing of earthquakes and cyclones in Taiwan over the past 60 years has demonstrated a statistical correlation, with a significant number of quakes bigger than 6 occurring within four years of major cyclones – known as typhoons in the Far East.

Taiwan was hit in 1969 by Typhoon Flossie, then a 6.2 quake hit Taiwan in 1972. In 2009, Typhoon Morakot was followed by a 6.2 quake in the same year, and a 6.4 quake in 2010. Typhoon Herb, in 1996, was followed by a 6.2 quake in 1998 and a 7.6 quake in 1999.