More than 100 buildings will be evacuated for at least four hours Sunday aboard Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, for the removal of an unexploded, World War II era bomb, the Marine Corps confirmed.
During a construction project the base found an unexploded 500 pound bomb that had been dropped on the island during WWII, a Marine official familiar with the situation said.
Due to the large size of the bomb the base is requiring a complete evacuation, verified by security forces, of a large perimeter around the bomb.
It includes towers 858, 859, 869, 1086, 1087 and 1088, according to a post on the Camp Kinser Facebook page.
The area must be evacuated by 2 p.m. on Sunday, but the post asked residents to “please evacuate as early as possible.”
The evacuation was first reported by Stars and Stripes.
For those on base outside of the mandatory evacuation area, all outdoor activity is prohibited and they are directed to shelter in place until the all clear is sounded, the post said.
The camp expects the bomb removal to be complete by 6 p.m., according to the post. The all-clear notice will be posted to Facebook and by calls to Marines on duty, the Camp Facebook page clarified in a comment on the original post.
There is currently no plan for how to take care of any pets in the evacuation zone, the post said.
“The camp doesn’t have the facilities, personnel or funds to manage the pet challenge,” the post said. “The current assumption is that families will either leave their pets at home or take them with when they evacuate.”
