The continued extraction of natural gas in Groningen has led to residents feeling unsafe in their own homes
Mayor Hans Engels of Loppersum in the north of Groningen is shocked by the big earthquake (2.7 on a Richter scale) that took place in his Loppersum on Tuesday afternoon.
“This quake has once again had a major impact on our community,” he said. As reported by the GIC.
Engels can imagine that living in an unsafe house creates many feelings of fear and uncertainty. “I sympathise with residents and wish you all a lot of strength. Let’s keep on communicating the message that we are not there yet. ”
The mayor is again calling on the ministers Wiebes and Ollongren to tackle the problems caused by ongoing natural resource extraction, which has caused tens of earthquakes in the last decade.
“I hope that the Hague will now also realise that steps must be taken quickly towards a safe and healthy region. The cessation of gas extraction from the Groningen field is in sight. However, our residents are not aware of this yet, ”says Engels.
Engels: “The concerns and uncertainty about claims handling and reinforcement play a major role in their daily lives. A faster solution to this is essential for the well-being of our residents. The earthquake disrupts our society. It is time to tackle this as a crisis.”
Recently more political will has been put behind the movement to ‘turn the taps off’, and stop the widescale extraction of gas from Northern Dutch gas fields, which has been going on since around the 1960’s. In recent years the quakes have led to the destruction and re-building of the village of Overschild, a Frisian man living in Groningen going on hunger-strike against the quakes; and the announcement of the winding-down of one gas extraction company, that is jointly owned by the Dutch government, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and others.
More information about gas extraction-induced quakes can be found (in Dutch) at the KNMI website
Image via Piqsels. Rights Free
