Officials in northern Germany evacuated
around 16,000 people from their homes and closed a major section of
the autobahn on Sunday to prepare to defuse unexploded bombs from
World War II, dpa reported.

Feared traffic chaos as a result of the evacuation failed to
materialize after authorities completely closed off the major A2
east-west highway near Hanover. The closure is planned until 8 pm
(1800 GMT).

Unexploded bombs dating back to the aerial bombing of Germany during
World War II are still frequently found. Most local authorities have
teams working full-time to detect and defuse them.