Undefined Explosive Device (UED) event in Province of L\'Aquila, Avezzano area, Italy on Sat 11th February 2023

The Avezzano bomb among the largest found in Italy, probable mass evacuation It is one of the largest bombs ever found in Italy and a mass evacuation will probably be necessary to remove it. The inspection by the bomb squad of the 6th army engineers highlighted the characteristics of the bomb found in the town of Avezzano . The bomb found during some building excavations weighs a thousand pounds : 450 kilos of which 250 of explosives , most probably amatol (mixture of ammonium nitrate and TNT). Yesterday the mayor Giovanni Di Pangrazio activated the Municipal Operations Center for emergency management. The area of __the discovery, in the "Cupello" district, is monitored 24 hours a day by the state police, carabinieri, finance police and local police. The bomb was made safe, the military proceeded to create an "earth jacket". The bomb, which was 5 meters below street level, has intact fuzes. In the next few days a technical table will meet in the prefecture to manage the operations, but it seems obvious that a mass evacuation will have to be resorted to. Avezzano, during the Second World War was subjected to heavy and repeated bombings by the Allies which had above all the aim of rendering inoperative the station - which was razed to the ground - used by the Germans to bring supplies to the troops. According to the reconstructions of the historian Giovanbattista Pitoni , about 4,000 bombs were dropped which damaged 78% of the buildings causing 94 victims. The intensity of the bombing led to the evacuation of the city in late 1943 and early 1944. Four years ago, still in Avezzano, a bomb weighing about 500 pounds was found. On that occasion there were 500 evacuees.