Camilla Jessen
WWII bomb discovery forces mass evacuation in Nuremberg.
Thousands of residents in the German city of Nuremberg were ordered to leave their homes on Friday after construction workers unearthed a large World War II–era bomb.
Officials moved quickly to secure the area, triggering the largest evacuation the city has ever carried out.
Helicopters, emergency vehicles and loudspeaker announcements filled the streets as authorities worked against the clock to clear an 800-meter zone around the site.
Largest evacuation to date
The device — a 450-kilogram bomb — was found during construction on Avenarius Street in the Grossreuth district.
Once the ordnance was confirmed, officials established a wide security perimeter and halted traffic across the surrounding neighbourhoods.
Roughly 21,000 people were told to leave their homes, some boarding chartered buses to a temporary reception centre set up at the Berliner Platz school complex. Others were urged to stay with family or friends outside the exclusion zone.
Major emergency response
The operation called in nearly 500 firefighters, around 250 rescue volunteers, 60 civil protection staff and more than 100 police officers.
Roads were closed, public transport rerouted and teams conducted door-to-door checks to ensure residents had evacuated.
Authorities asked people to leave “as quickly as possible,” stressing the seriousness of the discovery and the need to keep the area clear until specialists could secure the device.
Coordinated operation
Evacuations of this scale are rare, even in Germany, where unexploded WWII ordnance is still routinely found during construction work.
Local officials described the response as one of the most complex in recent memory, given the size of the bomb and the dense urban surroundings.
Explosive ordnance disposal teams continued working late into the night, while emergency crews supported displaced residents at the temporary shelter.
Sources: Digi24; German local authorities; emergency services statements
This article is made and published by Camilla Jessen, who may have used AI in the preparation
