Danger as Dozens of Unexploded WWI Shells Uncovered After Heavy Rainfall

Dozens of unexploded shells from World War I were uncovered following heavy rainfall, prompting police to issue a warning to residents.

Belgian police were notified about the unexploded shells while the region around the town of Ypres, in western Belgium, was experiencing floods and high water levels.

"The abundance of water and the boggy ground drive extra shells to the surface," Ypres police said in the November 17 Facebook post.

People in Belgium were then asked to notify the Service for Clearance and Destruction of Explosive Devices, known by its local acronym DOVO, if they came across any unexploded shells.

A photo shared by Ypres police showed dozens of rusty unexploded shells piled on top of one another close to the roadside. Every year thousands of calls are made to DOVO regarding unexploded bombs from the two world wars.

Some of the most fierce campaigns of the two world wars were fought on Belgian soil, including the Battle of Ypres and the Battle of the Bulge, in which tens of thousands of casualties were recorded.

DOVO received at least 3,655 calls in 2019 and the majority of these were in regard to historic ammunition from the two world wars, according to the Belgian Armed Forces website. "In total, DOVO neutralized more than two hundred tons of ammunition in 2019," it said.

Newsweek has contacted local police for comment via email.

According to the Belgian Armed Forces website, almost every day, Belgian farmers find unexploded shells from the First World War while they plow their fields.

"That old ammunition can still explode and cause casualties," the website said. "With old chemical munitions, such as mustard gas, the consequences can be even greater. Home-made, abandoned explosives can also cause enormous casualties, as we have seen in attacks around the world and at home."

There have been numerous instances when unexploded bombs from the world wars have been reported to authorities across Europe.

In 2018, a man in the German city of Mönchengladbach drove to a local fire station with an unexploded bomb, leading city officials to call on citizens not to follow the man's example.

A German father-of-two was left stunned during a visit to a beach in southwest Denmark after he stumbled upon a sign that warned them that mines could lie ahead.

During World War II, German forces laid mines across the Scandinavian country's coastline while it was under Nazi occupation.