So, the Dutch Department of Energy announced that the Dutch Nuclear Reactor facility at Borrsele (on the coast in Dutch Zeeland near Flanders) can withstand flooding that is estimated to occur once in a million years. I have no idea of the uncertainty in those models. But the real shocker is in the claim that the facility is built to withstand an earthquake with a 5.2 magnitude on the Richter scale. The worst recorded earthquake in the Netherlands was 5.8 (in Roermond near the German border in 1992) with another too strong earthquake earlier in the 20th century. Of course, nearby Belgium has experienced a very famous, recorded earthquake that was far worse. I quote the great Dutch natural philosopher: Christiaan Huygens (who was hundreds of kilometers away from the centre): "De stenen vloer waarop ik stond werd enigszins opgetild, en zakte weer in, en dat enige malen gedurende ongeveer tien of twaalf seconden."
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