The Halifax Explosion
Nothing in the history of the Maritimes stands out like the Halifax Explosion of 1917, the greatest human-caused cataclysm of the pre-atomic age. It occurred when Halifax was the departure point for convoys transporting troops and armaments to Europe during World War I. Shortly after dawn on December 6, a Norwegian ship called the Imo , a vessel carrying relief supplies to Belgium, and a French munitions carrier called the Mont Blanc were manoeuvring in Halifax harbour. The Norwegian ship was steaming for the open sea, while the Mont Blanc , a small, decrepit vessel, was heading for the harbour stuffed with explosives and ammunition, including half a million pounds of TNT - though it flew no flags to indicate the hazardous nature of the cargo. As the ships approached each other, the Imo was forced to steer into the wrong channel by a poorly positioned tugboat. With neither ship clear about the other's intentions and each attempting to take evasive action, they collided, and the resulting sparks caused the ignition of the drums of flammable liquid stored on the Mont Blanc 's deck. A fire took hold, and the crew abandoned their vessel, which drifted under the force of the impact towards the Halifax shore. A large crowd had gathered on the waterfront to witness the spectacle when the TNT exploded. The blast killed 2000 people instantly and flattened over 300 acres of north Halifax, with fire engulfing much of the rest. Windows were broken in Truro over 90km away and the shock-wave was felt in Cape Breton. Nothing remained of the Mont Blanc , and part of its anchor, a piece of metal weighing over half a ton, was later found more than 4km away. To make matters worse, a blizzard deposited 40cm of snow on Halifax during the day, hampering rescue attempts. The bodies of many victims were not recovered until the spring. The vision of Armageddon haunted Halifax after the explosion as the poignant newspaper cuttings in the Maritime Museum show
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