Explosion of Halifax

The explosion of Halifax occurred the December 6th 1917 with Halifax, in Nova Scotia with the Canada, when a Navire French transporting ammunition, the Mont Blanc , entered in collision with a Norwegian ship , the Imo , which went in Belgium, at the time diving into full First World War. The Mont Blanc took fire and exploded, killing 2 000 people and by wounding thousands of others. The explosion generated a Tsunami, and a shock wave so powerful that it broke trees, folded rails of railroad and demolishes buildings, transporting the fragments on hundreds of meters.

It was the greatest explosion created by the human activity until the atomic first test in 1945 and it always appears among the greatest artificial non-nuclear explosions.

Events

The December 6th 1917, to 8:45, the ship of French ammunition Mont Blanc and the ship of Norwegian help Imo entered in collision the straits of the port of Halifax. The Mont Blanc waited to be allowed with the port the December 5th, because it had arrived too late. The port was protected by nets which prevented the Sous-marin S enemies from entering. They prevented also the other ships from entering. At the same time, the Imo waited to be able to leave the port. The December 6th, the Imo tried to leave by the right channel, but another ship blocked the passage. It thus engaged in the left channel. The Mont Blanc was at this time entering by the left channel, and none of the two ships agreed to yield the passage. Finally, the Mont Blanc decided to pass beside the Imo by the center. The Imo then stopped completely its machines, but this action on the engines pushed the ship in the center, and the two ships entered in collision. The Imo then tried to go into reverse, which created sparks which reflect the Mont Blanc on fire.

The vapors of the Benzène which was stored on the bridge of the Mont Blanc were spread on the side of the ship, and they were ignited by the sparks caused by the collision. The Mont Blanc transported great quantities of ammunition for the Europe, which was plunged in the First World War. Its hold contained more 2 400 tons of explosives, including TNT, gun cotton and Picric acid . Fire, while being propagated, prevented the crew from reaching the equipment of fire control and the sailors quickly gave up the ship on the orders of the captain. The crew flees in two lifeboats, joining the shore of Dartmouth, while the ship on fire continued to drift towards the shore from Halifax. While it burned, other ships tried to come to him to assistance, and of the spectators were assembled on the shore. Thereafter, the vessel on fire struck the pier, and fire was propagated with ground. At 9 a.m., 4 minutes and 35 seconds precisely, the contents of the Mont Blanc exploded. The ship was pulverized instantaneously, the greatest part being vaporized in a gigantic fireball which rose with more than 1,6 km in the airs, forming one of the first clouds mushrooms made by the man. The power of the detonation started a tsunami which rose with more than two meters above the level high waters. The tsunami carried the Imo to the shore.

More than 2,5 km ² of the town of Halifax were shaved and of the panes were crashed to pieces until Truro, in Nova Scotia, with 100 kilometers from there. An anchor coming from the Mont Blanc was found with five kilometers of the port. Roughly 2 000 people died in the disaster (including 1000 which died instantaneously), 9 000 wounded (of which 6 000 seriously) and, according to a minimal estimate, about 30 million dollars (in American dollars of 1917) in damage were caused. Some 324 acres (1,3 km ²) of urban surface were destroyed, leaving 1500 homeless people. A detailed estimate showed that, among the killed people: 600 had less than 15 years; 166 was worker manuals; 134 were soldiers and/or sailors; 125 were craftsmen; and 39 were workers for the railroad. Many the wounds were handicapping with life, many people being partially made blind by the glares of glass. The very great number of ocular wounds involved main efforts on behalf of the doctors, at the origin of great good progresses in the treatment of the damaged eyes.

Continuation

The following day, a blizzard struck the city, making obstacle the Help!. Of the immediate assistance arrived quickly of the New Brunswick, the Island-of-Prince-Edouard and Newfoundland. In the week which followed, of the assistance arrived of everywhere to North America, and of the gifts arrived of everywhere in the world. The most famous effort and most complete came from the Croix-Rouge of Boston and from the Committee of Public safety of the Massachusetts. For this day, the citizens of Halifax have made gift of a large fir tree of Christmas each year at the town of Boston. This friendship also explains why good number of Nova Scotian are, still today, fans of the Bostonian sporting teams like the Bruins and the Red Sox.

A good part of the local folklore was inspired of this event. A history relates to a window on the side, with the shelter of the wind in the port, the church St Paul, to the Parade Public garden: the hole made by the explosion in the pane resembles the bust of a monk, and a piece of the remains coming from the disaster is still encrusted in the wall with the hall above the entry the sanctuary. One of the most famous heroes of the event was Vince Coleman; it took the risk to turn over to its office of the telegraph to send a message to two trains of passengers who went to the station of North Street to alert them imminent danger. It was killed in the deflagration, but the trains accepted its warning and stopped with orée of the town of Rockingham; they escaped the damage from the explosion and relayed the message to call for the aid.

Before the explosion of Halifax, the mining explosion of Nanaimo in 1887 had been the greatest non-naturelle explosion in the world.

Catalog of films

A téléfim was carried out in 2003 on the explosion of Halifax: Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion realized by Bruce Pittman.

External bonds

History of the city
Halifax Explosion (in English)
Files of Radio-Canada: Halifax reappears of its ashes
Bibliothèque and Archives Canada: The explosion of Halifax
Minutes of the inheritance: The explosion of Halifax

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