Koblenz, where the Mosel meets the Rhine

Recently we posted about how the near record drought in Europe has lowered the levels in the Rhine River, not only limiting vessel traffic, but also exposing World War II munitions.  We wrote that “ bomb disposal experts … are evaluating how to dispose of a larger bomb  found lying in 16 inches of water near Koblenz.” They have made their determination and it involves evacuating 45,000 people, or roughly half of the population of Koblenz, this Sunday, prior to defusing the estimated 3,000 pounds of high explosives in the bomb.

Nearly half German city to evacuate Sunday for defusing of WWII era bomb

About 45,000 residents of the German city of Koblenz, nearly half of the city’s population, are under evacuation orders Sunday following the discovery of what local officials said was one of the largest unexploded bombs ever found, believed to have been dropped by the British Royal Air Force during World War II.

The nearly 4,000-pound bomb, packed with more than 3,000 pounds of explosives, as well as other unexploded ordnance, were discovered in the Rhine River, where the water levels have dropped significantly due to a lack of rain over the past few weeks, according to local authorities.