13,000 People Evacuated In German City After World War II Bomb Found

Authorities in Germany's Dusseldorf asked 13,000 residents to leave their homes temporarily after a World War II-era bomb was found. German news outlet Deutsche Welle (DW) said that the police and bomb squad launched an operation to dispose of the unexploded bomb. The one-tonne shell was discovered on August 7-8. It was discovered during the working hours near the city zoo, the outlet further said quoting officials. Reports keep emerging from time to time saying thousands of bombs, left over from the two World Wars, are still buried in Germany.

In Dusseldorf, authorities ordered all residents within a 500-metre radius of the bomb's location to evacuate the area. Roads within the evacuation zone were also temporarily closed during the disposal operation.

Some residents carried their pets with them as they left their homes.

However, it remains unclear when the operation was completed and restrictions lifted.

In 2017, the discovery of a 1.4-tonne bomb in Frankfurt forced the evacuation of 65,000 people. 

In December 2021, a Second World War bomb exploded at a construction site near Munich station, injuring four people and disrupting rail traffic.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, the US and British air forces dropped 2.7 million tons of bombs on Europe, half of that amount on Germany, between 1940 and 1945.

By the time the Nazi government surrendered in May 1945, the industrial infrastructure of the country had been crippled and dozens of cities had been reduced to ash.