According to a few "experts" who were interviewed by Germany's Bild newspaper (5 million readers), the close proximity of Uranus is having a tiny gravitational effect on Earth. Tiny, but enough to cause the recent seaquakes.

Under the front-page headline "Uncanny Uranus", the report in theBild newspaper cited an array of experts, ranging from Nasa scientists to TV astrologers, saying the seventh planet from the sun possesses a "quadripolar" magnetic field that acts as "a giant cosmic vacuum cleaner". This heavenly Hoover is literally sucking the Earth's tectonic plates out of their beddings, according to Bild, Europe's largest daily newspaper with more than five million readers. This magnetic pull is strongest along the Earth's equator because the tropics are marginally closer to Uranus than the poles are. The magnetic forces "are strong enough at the equator to suck up electrically charged dust particles", which could, in turn, disturb the Earth's crust and spawn killer sea quakes and resulting tidal waves. The reason these natural phenomena have increased of late is that the distant planet's orbit has brought Uranus uncomfortably close to Earth. Instead of being its usual 3,14-billion kilometres from Earth, Uranus currently is a mere 2,59-billion kilometres away. And it will remain this close through the year 2012...

Source: Mail & Guardian Online