Almost a quarter of the residents of Drenthe suffer from earthquake damage to their home, according to a study by Gronings Perspectief. In the border area with the province of Groningen, this even concerns about 70 to 90 percent of the inhabitants.
The Gronings Perspective study has been measuring the impact of earthquake damage among the population of the province of Groningen since 2016. The University of Groningen and Nivel research institute are working together on this. Last spring, the research was expanded to Drenthe.
“The Groningen gas extraction is the clearest thing on everyone’s mind, but there are also signals from Drenthe that people are experiencing damage. We wanted to take a good look at that now,” says Michel Dückers at NOS on Radio 1. Dückers is a special professor at the University of Groningen and research leader of the Gronings Perspectief.
According to the researchers, many North Drenthe respondents generally attribute the damage to gas extraction, both in the Groningen field and the smaller fields in Drenthe. “In a sense, we see a similar pattern in Drenthe as in Groningen,” Dückers explains. “People with more damage score less favorably on mental health. In the north of Drenthe, where most damage is reported, we see more stress complaints.”
According to Dückers, the good news is that general mental health in Drenthe looks largely good. “Fortunately, 80 percent feel safe to very safe. But people are concerned, especially in North Drenthe. What we mainly get from this is that governments must take the concerns very seriously.”
Gronings Perspectief will continue to monitor the situation in Drenthe from now on. “We have planned to carry out a follow-up measurement in Drenthe every year.”
Percentage of respondents who indicate that they have suffered damage, by three-digit postal code area in Drenthe. Postal code areas with too few respondents are indicated in white: