Overview

• North Rhine-Westphalia's bomb disposal teams handled 1,606 unexploded bombs in 2024, a 40% increase from the previous year.
• The rise in discoveries is attributed to intensified construction activity, with experts involved in 35,567 building projects last year.
• In the Cologne district alone, over 11,000 requests led to 729 ordnance finds and 2,400 field deployments.
• 182 bombs weighing 50 kilograms or more were defused in 2024, with 12 detonated on-site to ensure safety.
• The region allocated €20 million to ordnance disposal efforts, supported by 92 specialists and partial federal reimbursement.