European blood
12-06-2011, 06:40 PM
A drought in Germany has sent water levels in the Rhine to dangerous lows, exposing ships to unexploded Second World War munitions.
Bomb disposal experts have already had to blow up an incendiary bomb near Cologne and have yet to decide how to deal with a larger bomb spotted lying in 40 centimetres of water near Koblenz.
River traffic was also disrupted earlier this week after a grenade was spotted on the banks of the Rhine near Bonn, and authorities along the river have asked people to report any suspicious objects.
During the Second World War the Rhine saw intensive fighting as German troops used it as a barrier to stem the advance of Allied forces.
The danger posed by the munitions has added to the woes of Rhine shipping, which is having to deal with water levels nearly two metres below average as Germany and much of Central Europe feel the effects of one of the driest autumns on record. At Duisburg, the water level on the Rhine fell to just over two metres, its lowest level for 100 years, while in Bonn it fell to just over one metre.
In Kaub, which stands on a narrow stretch of the Rhine, the level has dropped to half a metre and, according to Ralf Schafer of the Water and Shipping Authority, it could sink further by the end of the week.
The low water levels on the river have left many boats stranded, and barges have been forced to sail under-loaded to avoid grounding.
"It's too difficult for ships to move in such low waters. Businesses are being damaged, companies are having to load 4,000-ton capacity ships with a mere 1,000 tons of goods," Schafer added.
"We stopped running our services on Saturday," said Susanna Maul from a Rhine ferry company. "At the moment you can see the stones on the bottom of the river."
The drought has also affected other European waterways. In parts of Bulgaria and Romania the Danube has fallen to its lowest level in 60 years, and shipping on large stretches of the river has ground to a halt.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Drought+threatens+shipping+Rhine+water+level+expos es+bombs/5764132/story.html
45,000 Told To Evacuate German Town Before Massive WWII Bomb Is Defused
This upcoming weekend, a team of German explosive experts and members of the army are scheduled to defuse an unexploded bomb found in the city of Koblenz in Germany. The bomb — with 3,000 pounds of explosives — is a remnant of World War II that emerged in the Rhine River because of low water levels.
How serious is the situation? Authorities ordered half of the city's residents — 45,000 people — to leave, while they get the job done.
Der Spiegel reports:
Three meters (10 feet) long and weighing 1.8 tons, the aerial bomb was recently spotted after a particularly dry November lowered water levels along the busy river. Now preparations are underway for a massive evacuation set for Sunday.
...
Authorities are building a temporary dam of some 350 sandbags around the bomb, currently covered by about 40 centimeters (16 inches) of water. A crane commissioned to build the dam was put in place on Tuesday, fire department spokesman Manfred Morschhäuser told the German news agency DAPD. The area will then be pumped free of water so the bomb can be defused.
Stars and Stripes reports that the bomb is thought to have been dropped by the British Royal Air Force during the war and it is one of the largest bombs found in German history.
"A 275-pound American bomb and a German smoke grenade were also found nearby," the paper reports, which adds that the British bomb is sitting on 16 inches of water, "partly buried in mud, making it difficult to access the detonation fuse."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/30/142970011/45-000-told-to-evacuate-german-town-before-wwii-bomb-disposal
Bomb disposal experts have already had to blow up an incendiary bomb near Cologne and have yet to decide how to deal with a larger bomb spotted lying in 40 centimetres of water near Koblenz.
River traffic was also disrupted earlier this week after a grenade was spotted on the banks of the Rhine near Bonn, and authorities along the river have asked people to report any suspicious objects.
During the Second World War the Rhine saw intensive fighting as German troops used it as a barrier to stem the advance of Allied forces.
The danger posed by the munitions has added to the woes of Rhine shipping, which is having to deal with water levels nearly two metres below average as Germany and much of Central Europe feel the effects of one of the driest autumns on record. At Duisburg, the water level on the Rhine fell to just over two metres, its lowest level for 100 years, while in Bonn it fell to just over one metre.
In Kaub, which stands on a narrow stretch of the Rhine, the level has dropped to half a metre and, according to Ralf Schafer of the Water and Shipping Authority, it could sink further by the end of the week.
The low water levels on the river have left many boats stranded, and barges have been forced to sail under-loaded to avoid grounding.
"It's too difficult for ships to move in such low waters. Businesses are being damaged, companies are having to load 4,000-ton capacity ships with a mere 1,000 tons of goods," Schafer added.
"We stopped running our services on Saturday," said Susanna Maul from a Rhine ferry company. "At the moment you can see the stones on the bottom of the river."
The drought has also affected other European waterways. In parts of Bulgaria and Romania the Danube has fallen to its lowest level in 60 years, and shipping on large stretches of the river has ground to a halt.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Drought+threatens+shipping+Rhine+water+level+expos es+bombs/5764132/story.html
45,000 Told To Evacuate German Town Before Massive WWII Bomb Is Defused
This upcoming weekend, a team of German explosive experts and members of the army are scheduled to defuse an unexploded bomb found in the city of Koblenz in Germany. The bomb — with 3,000 pounds of explosives — is a remnant of World War II that emerged in the Rhine River because of low water levels.
How serious is the situation? Authorities ordered half of the city's residents — 45,000 people — to leave, while they get the job done.
Der Spiegel reports:
Three meters (10 feet) long and weighing 1.8 tons, the aerial bomb was recently spotted after a particularly dry November lowered water levels along the busy river. Now preparations are underway for a massive evacuation set for Sunday.
...
Authorities are building a temporary dam of some 350 sandbags around the bomb, currently covered by about 40 centimeters (16 inches) of water. A crane commissioned to build the dam was put in place on Tuesday, fire department spokesman Manfred Morschhäuser told the German news agency DAPD. The area will then be pumped free of water so the bomb can be defused.
Stars and Stripes reports that the bomb is thought to have been dropped by the British Royal Air Force during the war and it is one of the largest bombs found in German history.
"A 275-pound American bomb and a German smoke grenade were also found nearby," the paper reports, which adds that the British bomb is sitting on 16 inches of water, "partly buried in mud, making it difficult to access the detonation fuse."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/30/142970011/45-000-told-to-evacuate-german-town-before-wwii-bomb-disposal