Groningen residents received 1.2 billion euros in earthquake damage compensation

It took almost 27 years for Groningen residents to receive compensation for the damages caused by induced earthquakes in 2018. Since then, the region's residents have received 1.2 billion euros in payment for the earthquakes going on for the past 30 years, NU.nl reported.

Fracking in the area is responsible for the earthquakes. Recently, more and more victims have come forward. "When we started, it was around 100 to 150 people per week. That number is around 750 to 1,000 per week since we know the fixed fee," Jouke Schaafsma from the Insitute of Mining Damage Groningen told NU.nl. The fixed fee is 5,000 euros, or residents can let the damage be assessed.

Since November, residents have had the opportunity to claim +immaterial damages. Schaafsma said that 166 people have received 476,000 euros in immaterial damages.

The institute suspects there are possibly still hundreds of thousands of people who have not reported damages yet. "We are still getting reports, but we think that around 200,000 people have not yet reported damages. It is likely they will still do that," Schaafsma said.

The first earthquake was reported precisely 30 years ago, on December 5, 1991. Since then, several earthquakes occur each year in Groningen, sometimes damaging properties.

Gas extraction in Groningen will end by 2028 at the latest.