Drenthe town Winde hit by 1.6 magnitude earthquake

The Drenthe town of Winde, about 20 kilometers south of Groningen, was shaken by a 1.6 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday evening, the meteorological institute KNMI reported.

The quake happened at around 8:30 p.m. at a depth of 3 kilometers. It is not yet known whether it caused any damage. The last time Winde had an earthquake was in September 2020, with a magnitude of 1.8.

The earthquakes in Groningen and its surroundings are caused by gas extraction in the province, called “induced” earthquakes by the KNMI. The previous induced earthquake was on July 9 near Appingdam with a magnitude of 1.5. The strongest quake so far was on 16 August 2012 in Huizinge. That earthquake had a magnitude of 3.6.

The government plans to close the Groningen gas fields in October and would only reopen them in emergencies, Minister Hans Vijlbrief of Mining said in June. Though the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), responsible for the gas extraction in Groningen, recently said that it would be technically impossible to restart gas mining in the province once the fields are shut down.

The decision to shut down gas extraction in Groningen followed fierce criticism about the growing earthquakes in the province. In a damning report, a parliamentary committee of inquiry said that the Dutch State and oil companies systematically ignored the interests of Groningen residents in favor of the money they could make from fracking.