– 12/30/14, 14:30
© anp. Groningen in the night of Monday to Tuesday again hit by an earthquake. The quake had a magnitude of 2.8 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was under the KNMI in Woudbloem in Slochteren.
Once again, the earth shook tonight in Groningen. With a magnitude of 2.8 on the Richter scale, the quake was near Woudbloem in Slochteren not the worst of this year, but still a decent hit. At eleven o’clock there were 75 reported claims within the Dutch Petroleum Company.
The worst earthquake this year, had a magnitude of 3.0 on the Richter scale, took place on February 13 at Leermens in the municipality Loppersum, which is slightly further north. Yet there were earthquakes in the past year less than last year. “The unpredictability of earthquakes and their frequency make it difficult to predict what lies ahead,” said Läslo Evers, Head of the Department of Seismology and Acoustics of the KNMI. “I did not feel that it is increasing, but to say what the effect of the reversal of gas, we must certainly do three years of research.”
Evers can not say why the last year quieter was the previous year. “The number of earthquakes per year can differ by a few dozen. Where that comes from is unclear, the earth decide when he wants to lose his power. It is this unpredictability makes it hard to predict what awaits us in the coming years.”
Link with gas extraction
It is clear that there is a connection with the gas. On July 22, 1959 the first gas was extracted from the gas bubble in Slochteren. The first tremors were observed in the eighties of the last century. Since the beginning of this century, the number of earthquakes has increased. Or they have become heavier Evers can not say, “the relationship between the number of heavy and light earthquakes have remained the same, but with the increase in the number of quakes are also more severe earthquakes.” It makes the experience even how deep the quake occurs. If the epicenter closer to the surface is even a slight tremor experienced as heavy. Most earthquakes in Groningen take place at a depth of three kilometers.
Earlier this year screwed Minister of Economic Affairs Kamp gas production at the Groningen Loppersum driven back, but further south in the province, he now makes more gas to get compensation from the ground. The result is that the soil in some of Groningen indeed what seems to rest, but elsewhere the earthquake danger is increasing. The city of Groningen is no longer immune from this autumn also appeared when the county seat was hit by a significant earthquake.
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