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- Halifax explosion, devastating explosion on December 6, 1917, that occurred when a munitions ship blew up in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Nearly 2,000 people died and some 9,000 were injured in the disaster, which flattened more than 1 square mile (2.5 square km) of the city of Halifax.
www.britannica.com/event/Halifax-explosionHalifax explosion of 1917 | Significance & Facts | Britannica
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9,000 (approximate) On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Mont-Blanc, laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond district of Halifax.
- Wartime City
- IMO and Mont-Blanc
- Collision
- Vincent Coleman
- Explosion and Tsunami
- Death and Destruction
- Relief
- Inquiry and Prosecution
- Memory
Halifax was a busy, wartime port city in 1917. The First World Warhad been underway for three years, exposing Canadian servicemen to injury, death and hardship, but bringing prosperity to Halifax. After decades of hard economic times, the city was a hub of Canada's war effort. With one of the finest and deepest ice-free harbours in North America, H...
The Mi'kmaq called the harbour K’jipuktuk, or Chebucto, meaning "great harbour." During the war, the harbour was protected by a network of fortified gun emplacements and observation posts, manned by military personnel. Many Halifax residents believed that German battleships might one day arrive offshore and shell the city. Underwater nets, to guard...
The Imo was departing the harbour on the morning of 6 December 1917. It had emerged from Bedford Basin and was travelling south through the Narrows — the harbour's tightest navigation section — moving on the eastern, Dartmouth side of the channel instead of the Halifax side to the west, where outgoing vessels normally travelled. Imo's path required...
At the nearby railway yards, two men learned of the ship’s contents and the danger of explosion. Chief clerk William Lovett told people in the yards about the Mont-Blanc's deadly cargo and called an agent further up the line to warn him of the danger. Vincent Coleman, a railway dispatcher, controlled the busy freight- and passenger-rail traffic com...
The Mont-Blanc exploded at 9:04:35 a.m., sending out a shock wave in all directions, followed by a tsunami that washed violently over the Halifax and Dartmouthshores. More than 2.5 square km of Richmond were totally levelled, either by the blast, the tsunami, or the structure fires caused when buildings collapsed inward on lanterns, stoves and furn...
The north ends of Halifax and Dartmouth bore the brunt of the devastation. Dartmouth's north was sparsely developed, however the Mi’kmaqsettlement at Turtle Grove — where Mi'kmaq families had lived for generations — was completely destroyed; those houses in Turtle Grove that were not knocked down by the shock wave were soon swamped by the tsunami. ...
Halifax's civilian administration was ill-equipped to respond to the disaster. Before the explosion, social services were few, and mostly offered by private charities, not government. The city's mayor was away at the time, so leadership of the immediate response fell to Deputy Mayor Henry Colwell. He himself had only a small police and fire service...
Halifax's angry survivors demanded answers — and scapegoats — in the wake of the tragedy. At first, there were rumours that German saboteurs were behind the explosion. However, a judicial inquiry — heavily influenced by the aggressive tactics of Charles Burchell, the lawyer hired to represent the owners of the Imo — quickly focused blame on three m...
Memories of the Explosion lived on for decades among the survivors who witnessed it, many of whom told their stories of that terrifying day. One of the last surviving eyewitnesses was Kaye McLeod Chapman, only five years old at the time of the disaster. Despite the destruction to her home and her neighbourhood, Chapman credited her survival to the ...
Jul 20, 2010 · The massive explosion killed more than 1,800 people, injured another 9,000–including blinding 200–and destroyed almost the entire north end of the city of Halifax, including more than 1,600...
Jan 23, 2020 · The Halifax Explosion occurred when a Belgian relief vessel and a French munitions carrier collided in Halifax Harbour during World War I. Crowds gathered around to watch the fire from the initial collision. The munitions ship drifted towards the pier and after twenty minutes blew sky high.
- Susan Munroe
Richmond and the Mi’kmaw community of Turtle Grove were struck by the full force of the blast. More than 1700 people were killed by the explosion and its after-effects. At least 9000 were injured and many more were made homeless. Mortuary effects from some of those killed in the explosion.
May 25, 2022 · The Halifax Explosion happened on 6 December 1917. Two ships ran into each other. One of the ships was carrying munitions (war supplies), including explosives. The munitions were being sent to Europe to use in the First World War. The explosion destroyed the north end of Halifax.
