Around 7,800 Berliners had to be evacuated on Wednesday after a World War II bomb was found in the east of the city.
Police said three schools were used as emergency shelters and the controlled detonation of the device was delayed because a number of residents with walking difficulties took longer to clear the area.
Two furniture stores, two day-care centres, two schools and a DIY store were located in the 500-metre radius around the Hohenschönhausen site where the bomb was found.
It was discovered on a construction site earlier in the day and was examined by forensic experts. According to police, the dud is 60 by 30 centimetres and probably Soviet.
Around 180 police officers were mobilized for the evacuation. They went door to door and also drove through the streets with loudspeakers. Police also called on people to leave the exclusion zone via Twitter.
Berlin's explosives experts are called out on average about two to three times a day after suspected World War II ammunition or bombs are found.
In 2021 alone, 52 tons of war munitions were discovered. Almost 80 years after the end of the war, the Berlin Senate estimates that there are still more than 4,500 unexploded bombs in the city's soil.
During the war against Nazi Germany, the United States, British and Soviets dropped more than 45,000 tons of explosives on the city, according to historians.
