Almost 600 damage reports filed after Groningen earthquake

Nearly 600 people have now reported property damage after Friday’s earthquake in Groningen, according to the institute that tracks quake-related incidents. The number of reports has risen to 593, up from 246 on the day of the quake. The IMG has also received 25 notifications about potentially dangerous situations, and in two cases, urgent action was taken.

The quake, which registered 3.4 on the Richter scale, struck near the village of Zeerijp and is now considered the third strongest ever recorded in the province. People across much of Groningen felt the tremor. Provincial governor René Paas described the earthquake as both physically damaging and emotionally distressing. He said that the event has crushed the belief that ending gas extraction would put a stop to major earthquakes. The Netherlands shut down the main Groningen gas fields in 2023 due to repeated quakes that have damaged thousands of homes and left residents living with long-term uncertainty.

It is noted that, since the 1980s, the region has experienced more than 1,600 earthquakes, which have affected some 85,000 buildings. Particularly, in 2023, a parliamentary commission concluded that the interests of Groningen residents had been consistently overlooked by the government and energy companies, and that financial gain remained the priority even after gas extraction began triggering earthquakes.