104 points | by toomuchtodo 4 hours ago
8 comments
I stayed near Dubrovnik in the summer of 2005. There was a wildfire burning on on the hills behind us.
The fire traversed the hillside, and every hour or two a landmine would explode.
This was ten years after the war.
I wonder when/if places like vietnam will ever achieve this.
Hell, Australia still has WW2 mines.
France still has WWI unexploded ordnance, and keep-out areas are still being de-mined. This has been going on for a century now. About 900 tons of explosives are removed each year. Completion in 700 years at the current rate.[1]
[1] https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-i/the-red-zone-la...
Is that actual land mines or generic lost explosives and unexploded bombs?
Cause the latter is pretty common in Europe too, but I'm surprised you have actually minefields which haven't been cleared up in Australia.
I imagine a lot has to do with motivation. Canada has UXO that it doesn't clean up as land is abundant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minefields_in_Croatia
Oof, only 90% survival rate for deminers.
Drones can help these days
I stayed near Dubrovnik in the summer of 2005. There was a wildfire burning on on the hills behind us.
The fire traversed the hillside, and every hour or two a landmine would explode.
This was ten years after the war.
I wonder when/if places like vietnam will ever achieve this.
Hell, Australia still has WW2 mines.
France still has WWI unexploded ordnance, and keep-out areas are still being de-mined. This has been going on for a century now. About 900 tons of explosives are removed each year. Completion in 700 years at the current rate.[1]
[1] https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-i/the-red-zone-la...
Is that actual land mines or generic lost explosives and unexploded bombs?
Cause the latter is pretty common in Europe too, but I'm surprised you have actually minefields which haven't been cleared up in Australia.
I imagine a lot has to do with motivation. Canada has UXO that it doesn't clean up as land is abundant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minefields_in_Croatia
Oof, only 90% survival rate for deminers.
Drones can help these days