More than 70 years after the end of the Second World War, there are still undetonated bombs and shells all over Europe. Decades of post-war construction has uncovered many of these devices while building roads and structural foundations. However, some of these bombs are discovered later during large-scale construction work, prompting evacuations. Uncovered bombs can still explode and cause casualties and widespread structural damage.
SAFEY has reported on several of these bomb disposals. Travelers may find it difficult to find this information, especially if they are in a country where they don’t know the local language.
On Monday, December 26th, 2016, a bomb from a WWII air raid was discovered during a construction in the town of Augsburg in southern Germany. More than 50,000 people in 32,000 households were evacuated during the disposal.
On Thursday, March 9th, 2017, a WWII bomb was discovered during construction on a highway near Düsseldorf. More than 8,000 people were evacuated, highways and railways in the area were closed off, and air traffic at Düsseldorf Airport was suspended while the bomb was being diffused. The evacuations and closures caused major traffic disruptions and delays all throughout Düsseldorf during the day.
On Friday, March 24th, 2017, a WWII bomb was discovered during construction near the University of Kaiserslautern in southwest Germany. Residents in the area, including students at the University, were evacuated between March 24th-26th while the bomb was being disposed of. Highway L502 from Dansenberg was also closed off during the period and bus traffic was suspended in the area.