Shell, Exxon give 100,000 Dutch people earthquake damage

This video from the Netherlands says about itself:

Nicolette Marié about Shell wrecking province of Groningen

22 May 2015

Tens of thousands of homes have already been damaged, some have even been demolished. Age-old buildings are propped up with shores. The future of hundreds of thousands of Groningen people has been changed forever.

Should gas extraction continue at this rate, we risk more severe quakes, with higher ground accelerations. The houses, apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, churches, offices and factories in the North-eastern part of the province and a large part of the city of Groningen cannot withstand such forces.

Should a severe quake occur near one of the larger cities, such as Delfzijl, Hoogezand-Sappemeer or Groningen, lots of buildings will collapse, resulting in deaths and injuries.

To prevent this from happening, 152.000 houses and 18.000 other buildings need to be reinforced. A quake proof building code has been drafted, and based on this code reinforcement will cost at least 30 billion euro. That is a lot of money for a few old bricks. Better use it to save a bank (ABN Amro) and place a few old boys from the network in convenient spots. To govern is to predict – every multinational knows that.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV:

100,000 people with earthquake damage in Groningen

Today, 16:00

The number of people in Groningen living in a house with damage that has been recognized as earthquake damage, has risen to 100,000. According to research by the University of Groningen, the Public Health Service and the municipality of Groningen. 25,000 of them have had damage more than once.

The study ‘Groningen perspective’ attempts to identify the effects of earthquakes on the population. In order to make a reliable estimate of the number of people affected, the researchers have data from the NAM [gas drilling corporation, joint venture of Exxon and Shell] on the number of claims about buildings combined with figures from Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry.

An earlier phase of the study showed that damage can lead to health problems, especially in people who were victims more tan once. In addition, they often do not feel safe in their own homes.

Outside the Groningen earthquake area 85 percent of the people feel safe at home. Within that area, the percentage is 60 for people who have been affected once. Of the people who have had more damage, only 38 percent still feel at ease at home.

Not recognised

The coordinator of the study, Professor Tom Postmes of the University of Groningen, says that there are many people whose damage has not been recognized. In Groningen city that is true for more than half of the cases.

Around the Groningen natural gas field is a belt where rejection is much greater, up to 100 percent. Residents of eg Oldambt, Zuidhorn, Groningen city and Veendam suffer from this: their municipality is not known as an ‘earthquake zone’ but they do get damage.

Postmes would like to investigate why recognition fails in many cases, and some of the consequences. But he will not have access to the information necessary to do such research. Even municipalities are struggling to get on the table what is going on for their own people, he says. “Actually, all researchers grope a bit in the dark. Even in the government. I think that is weird and wrong.” …

Groningen Provincial Executive member Eelco Eikenaar [Socialist Party] says not enough is done to share information. He argues that the NAM corporation must be completely removed from the injury settlement procedure and reinforcement operations.

“Politicians must take matters into their own hands. They must say: We will organize things, making this democratically accountable.” According to him the new figures show that consequences for people are enormous. “They have suffered damage and they have to deal in their claims settlements with a company employed by the NAM. That is not transparent.” …

In Groningen several organizations have announced actions.

Shell letter: if the government limits our drilling, then less money for people whose homes we have damaged in Groningen.

This February 2017 video is called Thousands rise against Shell & Exxon in the Netherlands.

England: ANTI-FRACKING campaigners presented North Yorkshire Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake a “cheque” for £10,000 at the weekend in response to his support for the controversial gas extraction process: here.

USA: Exxon, Auditor Must Comply With New York Climate Fraud Subpoena, Court Says. “I hope that today’s order serves as a wake up call to Exxon,” the New York attorney general said: here.