On 13 April 1992, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred near the town of Roermond at a focal depth of about . This so-called Roermond earthquake was the strongest seismic event in Western Europe since 1756. Following this earthquake, the water levels of numerous wells located in the Lower Rhine Embayment showed significant coseismic anomalies. The Roer Valley, which crosses three countries (Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany), is bounded by two north-northwest, south-southeast trending Quaternary normal fault systems. The eastern boundary is defined by the Peel boundary fault, along which the 1992 Roermond earthquake occurred, and the western boundary is defined by the Feldbiss fault zone, which is partly located in Belgium. Evidence of recent tectonic activity along the Feldbiss fault zone is visible on seismic profiles that show more than 600 m of offset in Neogene deposits. Although Ahorner demonstrated the existence of the Rhenish seismoactive zones and recommended a comprehensive analysis of Quaternary structures and background seismicity, coseismic movements were considered to be improbable and active faults remain largely unidentified.