Drenthe village Amen hit by 2.1 magnitude earthquake

A light earthquake was registered in the village of Amen in Drenthe on Saturday night. The quake occurred shortly after 3 a.m. and had a magnitude of 2.1, according to the national weather institute KNMI.

The quake, at a depth of 3 kilometers, was "induced," meaning it was related to gas production in the region, according to the KNMI. In general, earthquakes in Drenthe, where gas is still produced from smaller fields, are less common than in Groningen, where gas production has been stopped since October 1.

An Amen resident told RTV Drenthe that the quake felt like a "short boom." At first, he thought that a horse trailer was passing by his home, but a short time later he realized that it was an earthquake. The Drenthe village is close to the oil and gas field Eleveld where the Dutch petroleum company Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV (NAM) drills for gas.

This is not the first time that Drenthe has been hit by earthquakes, according to the broadcast. In February last year, a light quake of magnitude 2.0 was measured in Assen and in November 2013, an earthquake of magnitude 2.4 was detected in Annen.