Jul 04, 2023 at 09:05 Update: an hour ago
Homes in the earthquake zone in Groningen must be reinforced three times as fast. Otherwise it will not be possible to be ready in 2028, as promised. This is reported by the SodM regulator in its annual progress report.
The pace at which houses are reinforced has increased in the past year. From April 2022 to April this year, more than a thousand addresses have been reinforced. A year earlier, this still involved approximately 650 homes.
According to the State Supervision of Mines (SodM), the National Coordinator Groningen (NCG) is “on the right track”. Nevertheless, the pace must be increased further: another thirteen thousand addresses must be addressed by 2028 at the latest.
The SodM thinks that the deadline of 2028 can still be met. The supervisor provides for this some advice. For example, the government should focus primarily on security and decouple projects that have nothing to do with this from the reinforcement operation.
In addition, the regulator advocates “an integrated approach” for homes that need both reinforcement and damage repair. The division of roles of the various parties involved must also be made clearer.
Victims need to get clarity quickly
Finally, the organization makes a number of recommendations about contact with victims. For example, they must quickly obtain clarity about which sustainability measures can be taken together with the reinforcement and which cannot.
And if differences in the reinforcement approach cannot be explained, solutions must be sought together with residents.
Permanently stop gas extraction
Last week, SodM advised to definitively stop gas extraction on 1 October 2023. The plan is now to keep the option open for emergencies for another year.
According to the regulator, some of the residents of the earthquake area are developing stress complaints because the reinforcement operation and compensation are delayed. It could be that they are more likely to die because of that stress, according to research by the University of Groningen. The sooner gas production stops, the better.
When gas extraction has ended, it does not mean that the earthquakes will stop immediately. They will likely continue for decades. Researchers do expect that the risk of major earthquakes will decrease.
1:02 Play button
2023-07-04 07:05:00
#Reinforcement #operation #Groningen #times #faster #meet #deadline #Gas #extraction
