Cologne is preparing for the greatest evacuation since 1945 due to bomb find

Cologne is preparing for the greatest evacuation since 1945 due to bomb find

On June 4, 2025, Cologne has struggled with the largest evacuation campaign since the end of the Second World War. The background is the find of three World War II bombs in the Deutz district, which were discovered at around 4 p.m. during construction work. The ordnance disposal service confirms that there are two American 20-centers bombs and a ten-century bomb, all with service tiders. This discovery led to the immediate evacuation of around 20,000 people, which has been carried out on Wednesday morning, as reported by the Tagesschau

The roadblocks of the three affected Rheinbrücken-Hohenzollern-, Deutzer and Severinsbrücke-were set up early. The Eduardus Hospital, two old people's and nursing homes as well as several museums and a variety of hotels must also be cleared. At the same time, the authorities are pushing to comply with safety precautions, since the duration of the evacuation and the defusing depends on the cooperation of the population. If the police are not complied with, the police are faced.

evacuation measures and effects

The evacuation area includes large parts of the old town of Cologne and shopping zone, including 58 hotels, numerous restaurants and several schools. The WDR also had to move a appearance of the symphony orchestra and a comedy appearance in the Lanxess-Arena to Sunday. In total, many people who were accommodated in emergency shelters are affected, while others temporarily had to switch to alternative accommodations.

To support the evacuated, a contact point was set up in the gymnasium of the Humboldtstrasse vocational college. About 5,000 residents who had to leave their apartments during the night were looked after here. It was recommended to bring important things such as ID cards, medication and baby food, since pets were not allowed to be brought into the interior of the contact point.

traffic restrictions and safety precautions

The traffic also suffered greatly from the defusing measures. Deutsche Bahn expects significant restrictions on local and long-distance transport, especially at Cologne Messe/Deutz station, which is blocked. Trains that normally drive over the Hohenzollern Bridge no longer hold in Cologne Messe/Deutz, and some connections have to be redirected. Shipping on the Rhine is also temporarily stopped, while the Hohenzollern Bridge remains completely closed during the defusing.

In addition, the residents of the evacuation area must expect a temporary closure of the airspace. The first round of bell to evacuation was carried out on Wednesday morning at 8 a.m., and a second also follows the first measures. The regulatory office and the Cologne fire brigade work together to effectively implement the measures.

The unclear duration of the defusing has led to great uncertainty among the residents. Cologne city spokeswoman emphasizes that the beginning of the defusing work remains uncertain until all people are evacuated. The authorities are currently checking whether all apartments are empty on the radius of evacuation to ensure security before and during defusing. The measures aim to protect the population in the best possible way and to quickly clean up the situation, since 1,500 to 2,000 bombs from the Second World War are found in North Rhine-Westphalia, around 200 of which are classified as large-scale.

Overall, the situation in Cologne remains tense, while the city administration sets all levers in order to cope with the security problem. The reporting on ongoing measures is continuously on the WDR television, which provides special expenses for public information.