Unexploded bombs still pose a risk

August 28, 2012: Towards the end of the Bavarian school holidays, residents in Munich’s Schwabing district were subject to a bomb alert. Once instructed to leave their homes, the police patrolled the eerily empty streets and asked the last remaining pedestrians and residents to evacuate the restricted zone. The controlled explosion finally took place in the early evening, after several attempts to defuse the bomb had failed. The spectacular images posted on YouTube shortly afterwards showed fire balls and burning roofs and received thousands of hits. Despite numerous broken windows and doors, the damage to property was limited. However, lost profits for shops and restaurants near the incident zone were larger.

Bombs from World War II are still regularly being found in Germany. Even almost 70 years after the war, many unexploded bombs have yet to be discovered. Most are found during construction work, or when prospective property buyers get a detailed aerial analysis done. Estimates suggest that up to 20 percent of all World War II bombs failed to explode. So there is a constant risk of finding an unexploded bomb – pretty much anywhere.

A major danger even 70 years later: bombs with acid fuses

Usually, experts can defuse and remove the unexploded bombs. However, for bombs with an acid fuse, such as the Munich bomb from August 2012, a controlled explosion may be unavoidable. The detonation mechanism was constructed in such a way that the bomb does not explode until hours, or even days, after it was dropped. It is difficult for bomb experts today to tell whether the fuse mechanism of such a bomb is still intact or not.

If a bomb has to be detonated, the damage to nearby houses can be significant. The government bears the cost of the removal or detonation. Residential buildings and home contents insurance policies cover the damage to buildings. The war clause in German insurance policies has not been implemented for a long time in cases of controlled explosions of World War II bombs. However, the buildings or home contents insurance has to cover fire, lightning strikes and explosions.

The losses for businesses are often significantly greater than just the property damage. Whilst income is lost, fixed costs such as rent, wages and salaries still have to be borne by the business owners. Business interruption insurance can provide cover against loss of income and the loss of profit. When damage from a World War II bomb is particularly large, often the local government may get involved in helping those affected.

Unexploded bombs: an international problem

The problem of unexploded bombs from the Second World War is not limited to Germany. In 2012, a bomb was discovered in the grounds of the airport in Amsterdam - air traffic had to be suspended for a number of hours, with lengthy business interruptions and hefty costs incurred. Then in October 2012 a World War II bomb was also found at Sendai airport in Japan. As an indication of how heavily Japan was bombed during the Second World War: 38 tons of non-exploded bombs were found and defused there in 2011 alone.

Unexploded bombs are also continually being discovered in Britain, and here, too, experts believe that around ten percent of all World War II bombs are lying unexploded in the soil of London and other large cities. In June 2008, construction work at the Olympic Park in London had to be stopped after a 100kg bomb was discovered. There are also still thousands of sea mines off the south-west coast of England, which had once been laid as defense against a feared German invasion.

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