Earthquake near Geelbroek clearly felt in Assen, Rolde and surrounding area

An earthquake caused concern in Drenthe during the night from Friday to Saturday. The tremor occurred at 2:14 a.m. Dutch time and had a magnitude of 3.0. Its epicenter was near Geelbroek, southwest of Rolde, in the area of the Eleveld gas field. In Assen, Rolde and nearby villages, the shock was clearly felt.

According to the KNMI, the earthquake occurred at a depth of about 3 kilometers. Because it was a relatively shallow quake, the shaking was noticed clearly across the region. In Assen, residents reported being woken by rattling windows, rumbling noises, and a short but strong jolt. The quake was also clearly felt in Rolde and other nearby places.

Similar reactions quickly appeared under news reports and on social media. Under a Hart van Nederland post, one person wrote that they woke up with a start, were immediately standing next to the bed, and that the house and windows were shaking, followed by two or three dull bangs. Another person reported that the earthquake was clearly felt in Assen, with windows shaking and radiators rattling. On BlueSky, people also wrote that houses were clearly moving around 2:15 a.m. That picture matches the experience of many residents in and around Assen. “Let’s hope that was just an earthquake.”

Later in the night, a lighter aftershock followed. It was measured at 5:12 a.m. and had a magnitude of 1.3. That second quake will not have been felt as clearly everywhere, but it does confirm that there was more seismic activity in the same area that night.

The earthquake was not an isolated event. In recent years, more quakes have been recorded in this region, including near Ekehaar, Hooghalen, Assen, Eleveld and Geelbroek. Still, the 3.0 quake was clearly stronger than the series of tremors measured around the Eleveld gas field in 2023. That makes this one of the stronger earthquakes in the immediate area around Assen and Rolde.

For many residents, the timing likely made the impact feel greater. An earthquake in the middle of the night is often experienced more intensely, because people are abruptly woken by a bang, rattling windows or a moving house. That also comes through in reactions from Assen and the surrounding area, where people spoke of a shaking house, rattling radiators and an unreal experience.

The KNMI officially registered the earthquake near Geelbroek, in the area of the Eleveld gas field. The shock was clearly noticeable in Assen, Rolde and surrounding villages.