The Groningen Mining Damage Institute (IMG) has received 419 reports of damage since Saturday’s earthquakes near Wirdum and Garrelsweer. Of these, 275 came from within the area of effect of the two quakes, which had magnitudes of 3.1 and 1.2. Eleven reports were also made of a “possibly acutely unsafe situation”, reports the institute Sunday.
In ten of the eleven reports of an acutely unsafe situation, it has now been examined whether (additional) safety measures are necessary. This was not the case. The last report made up to 5 p.m. on Sunday will be assessed on Monday. In 93 of the 419 regular damage reports, the submitters opted for settlement via a fixed fee, 326 claimants want an expert to come and assess the damage.
The earthquake with a magnitude of 3.1 took place on Saturday night at 4.17 am near Wirdum in Groningen. It was the heaviest quake measured this year and is in the top 10 of heaviest quakes in the gas extraction area. Shortly afterwards, at 7.35 am, an aftershock with a magnitude of 1.2 followed at Garrelsweer.
Two weeks ago, two earthquakes took place near Uithuizen in a short time in the north of Groningen. Of these, the heaviest had a strength of 2.7. In the two days that followed, 335 damage reports were received at the IMG. Since the summer of 2020, the institute has paid out more than 1.5 billion euros in compensation to victims, of which approximately one billion euros for physical damage and half a billion euros for the depreciation of real estate.