Light earthquake around Wirdum

In the Groningen province Loppersum there was another small earthquake on Wednesday evening. The quake occurred just before 22:30 in the village of Wirdum and was mainly felt in the neighboring village Garrelsweer.The quake had a magnitude of 1.9 on the Richter scale, which is usually too light to cause much damage, said a spokesperson for the KNMI.

The frequent tremors in Groningen are due to gas winning in the area.

cracked wall
Y.Fujii
Flickr

On September 28, there was another light tremor near Garsthuizen, in the same province. The magnitude of 2 on the Richter scale, was also deemed too light to cause any damage, but it is still scary. Several residents reported the quake to RTV Noord.

In January turmoil arose after it was revealed that the gas extraction by the Dutch Oil Company in Groningen can lead to severe earthquakes. Previously it was assumed that the vibrations would not be over 3.9 on the Richter scale, but a report showed that a Groningen quake could well reach 4 or 5 on the Richter scale.