Earthquake with magnitude of 2.4 near Maastricht
An earthquake of magnitude 2.4 occurred near Maastricht on Sunday morning around 08:00 a.m. The national weather institute KNMI announced that the earthquake was caused by a fault line and not by gas production, as is sometimes the case in Groningen.
The earthquake, at a depth of 12 kilometers, took place near the village of Bunde, which is located just above Maastricht. Residents may not have felt the tremors, according to the KNMI spokesperson. The weather institute has not yet received reports from residents.
Natural earthquakes are caused by the shifting of earth plates. They occur more frequently in Limburg and southeastern Brabant. The strongest earthquake in recent history occurred near Roermond in 1992, which had a magnitude of 5.8. Back then, the tremors caused great damage in the border area between the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Reporting by ANP