The village of Zeerijp in Groningen had an — should we say eventful — day yesterday: residents experienced not one, not two, but three earthquakes.
Yup. Shortly before 9 PM, KNMI registered a quake of 2.2 with a depth of three kilometres, reports the NOS.
The third earthquake was slightly smaller than the first one but a resident of Zeerijk told regional news that “it gradually creates an anxious feeling.”
Morning, afternoon, and evening
All three earthquakes occurred in or near the village of Zeerijp. In the morning, the first one measured 2.5 and at around 3.30 PM, a 1.8 quake was felt in the nearby town Appingedam.
The KNMI (the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) has confirmed that the second earthquake wasn’t an aftershock of the morning’s quake in Zeerijp but an entirely separate one — oh nee.
A resident described the experience to RTV Noord: “Suddenly it started to vibrate, then a huge bang.”
It hasn’t been clarified whether the last earthquake of the day, again occurring in Zeerijp, was an earthquake proper or an aftershock.
Gas extraction makes earthquakes a regular phenomenon
For decades, the Netherlands has extracted gas in Groningen which makes the ground more susceptible to earthquakes.
Earlier this year, two quakes of 2.3 and 2.0 were measured in June. The strongest earthquake to date occurred in 2012 in the village of Huizinge with a magnitude of 3.6.
What do you think of these earthquakes in the Netherlands? Tell us in the comments below!
Feature Image: CreativeNature/Depositphotos