Earthquakes damaged at least 100,000 Groningen homes

At least 100 thousand Groningen residents live in a home damaged by earthquakes caused by gas extraction in the province. A quarter of them reported damage more than once, according to a study by the University of Groningen, public health service GGD and the municipality of Groningen, NOS reports. The researchers looked at NAM's data on damage reports as well as figures from Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry. Since 2012 about 70 thousand earthquake damage claims were filed. Some 55 thousand of these were handled and paid. The other 15 thousand are still in various stages of progress. According to the researchers, the actual figures may be much higher as the damage in some homes is yet to be discovered. They also point out that many damaged homes lie outside the so-called "earthquake zone" and are therefore not included in the figures. A previous study showed that earthquake damage to home can lead to health problems for those affected, ranging from insomnia to heart problems. About 40 percent of Groningen residents do not feel safe in their homes, compared to 15 percent in all of the Netherlands. Among Groningen residents whose hoes were it by an earthquake more than once, only a third still feel safe in their homes.