More than 50,000 residents from the southern German city of Augsburg are being evacuated from their homes so that an operation to defuse a World War Two bomb can get under way on Sunday.<\/p>\n
It is the country’s biggest evacuation for an unexploded bomb since the end of the war.<\/p>\n
The 1.8-tonne British explosive is thought to have come from a 1944 air raid, which destroyed the old town.<\/p>\n
It was uncovered during construction work.<\/p>\n
Police say they do not know how long the operation will take.<\/p>\n
The BBC’s Europe regional editor Mike Sanders said the city authorities are taking no chances, and are evacuating everyone with a 1.5km (0.9 mile) radius of the bomb.<\/p>\n
The authorities are confident that most people affected can stay with friends or family, but a number of schools and sports halls have been opened as shelters for those in need.<\/p>\n
Most Germans celebrating Christmas open their presents and have their main festive meal on 24 December, rather than Christmas Day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than 50,000 residents from the southern German city of Augsburg are being evacuated from their homes so that an operation to defuse a World War Two bomb can get under way on Sunday. It is the country’s biggest evacuation for an unexploded bomb since the end of the war. The 1.8-tonne British explosive is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":279574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[14521,14522,14523,13678],"yoast_head":"\n