Groningen residents woke up to a jolt this morning after a tremor of nearly magnitude 3 hit the region.
According to a post on X from the KNMI, the quake struck in the early hours of this morning (Friday, August 21) at 5:50 AM local time. The epicentre was near the village of Rottum, in the municipality of Het Hogeland.
Rocking in at magnitude 2.8 on the Richter scale, it’s the strongest quake to hit the region since March, when a magnitude 3 tremor hit Geelbroek in Drenthe.
Here’s what we know so far
According to the KNMI, the quake was first detected at a depth of 3km beneath Zandeweer, a village in Het Hogeland, Groningen.
The weather and seismological institute classed it as a “geïnduceerde aardbeving” (or “induced earthquake”), which the Dutch Mining Damage Commission notes are often caused by mining in the area, rather than natural fault lines.
And it’s hardly the only mining-related earthquake to hit the region in recent times, with Groningen seeing its third-strongest quake ever in November of last year.
Due to gas extraction in the area, these earthquakes tend to result in more damage, the State Supervision of Mines reports — despite the overall value on the Richter scale remaining comparatively low.
These quakes tend to be quite shallow, occurring at a depth of approximately 3km, which means that they lose far less energy on their way to the surface than regular earthquakes.
Were you in Groningen when the quake hit? Did you feel any tremors? Drop your experience in the comments below.
