Hardest earthquake in five years hits Groningen
A 3.4-magnitude earthquake rattled the province of Groningen on Monday afternoon. There were no immediate damage reports of note following Monday 3 p.m. quake, which had an epicenter near Zeerijp and could be felt at least 10 kilometers away, the KNMI meteorology agency said.
Broadcaster RTV Noord said those in its Europapark, Groningen offices 20 kilometers away could also feel the ground shake.
Attorney Dennis Woudsma said on Twitter it felt as though the building he was in creaked loudly and then began violently shaking as though someone had grabbed it.
"Only the Dutch can fight the ocean and create their own Earthquakes! (my tea was dancing!)" wrote another Twitter user.
It was the strongest earthquake in the area since one registered 3.6 on the Richter scale in Huizinge in 2012. Hundreds of damage reports were filed in the aftermath of the incident over five years ago.
KNMI categorized Monday's earthquake as "induced," suggesting it was caused by the the removal of fossil fuels in the area. The region has faced a spate of earthquakes as a result of natural gas extraction there.
One MP, Henk Nijboer, an economist from Groningen, called on more efforts to be done by the government and its fossil fuels firm NAM to end gas extraction and provide repairs and assistance to those in need.
The earthquake was the sixth registered in the area of Zeerijp in just over five weeks.
Aardbeving 't Zandt 3.4 schaal v richter. Leef mee met alle Groningers die schade hebben of hun scheuren en schades nog groter zien worden. Schades kunnen door trage NAM en overheid nog steeds niet worden gemeld. Nu nood aan de man dat onmiddellijk op te lossen!!!#schadeprotocol
— Henk Nijboer (@henknijboer) January 8, 2018
Het pand kraakte heftig; het schudde en voelde als ineens vastgegrepen. En daarna los. Heb het nog niet zo fel meegemaakt. #aardbeving
— dennis wouda (@denniswouda) January 8, 2018
3.4 Earthquake in the Dutch city of 't Zandt. Round 15:00 local time. Only the Dutch can fight the ocean and create their own Earthquakes! (my tea was dancing!) #aardbeving #earthquake
— Henk the man (@Henkman00) January 8, 2018