Background:
On the morning of December 6th 1917, the city of Halifax was rocked by the biggest explosion known to man before the development of nuclear weapons. World War I was still ongoing in Europe and Canada was embroiled in the issues of supporting the Allied forces in the war. The port of Halifax became a main hub for transportation of all types of resources to Europe. Among these included soldiers, relief supplies, and ammunition. Halifax will be literally flattened by its own popularity as a great port city.
The Event:
At the morning of the event, people went about their normal lives. Children went to school and adults went to their jobs. While all this happened, The Norwegian vessel carrying relief supplies S.S. Imo was transiting out a strait that led from the Halifax harbor the ocean. The S.S. Imo was late after experiencing delays while loading so it was going above the speed limit of the strait. Meanwhile, The S.S. Monte-Blanc was sailing into the “Narrows” and into harbor carrying high explosives and flammable liquids like TNT, Cordite, and Benzol. Due to relaxed regulations around the “Narrows due to the fear of German U-Boats roaming the area, ships were allowed more free movement in and out of the harbor to avoid being sunk. As the S.S. Imo dodged all the wayward ships, she went off course and soon was on a collision course with the S.S. Monte-Blanc. After a series of miscommunication with the two ships, they collided. The barrels of Benzol on board the Monte-Blanc tipped over and spilled. As the Imo disengaged from the collision, the sparks caused from the metal to metal grazing ignited the Benzol on the Monte-Blanc. The fiery liquid washed down the decks of the ship on fire. The fire eventually spread to the cordite and TNT which ignited. At 9:00, the Monte-Blanc exploded and destroyed Halifax.
The cloud that was created by the fire of the explosion.
The Destruction:
During the explosion on the S.S. Monte-Blanc, the area surrounding the ship was a fireball with temperatures rising to a blistering 5,000 degrees Celsius. Every building within a 2 kilometers of the explosion was flattened. As various stoves and lamps in people’s houses were knocked over, even more fires started. The explosion displaced all the water in the area so the seafloor was dry for a moment. The ensuing tsunami started from the displaced water wiped out a seaside First Nations village nearby. 1,600 were killed instantly with around 9,000 injured. Some were instantly decapitated and thrown by the force of the explosion or were trapped by the fires that spread around the city.
Halifax flattened after the explosion.
A comparison of what Halifax looked like before.
The Relief Effort:
Some ships that were nearby after the explosion went to help Halifax with treating the wounded. The government set up the Halifax Relief Commission which directed relief effort of Halifax.
The S.S. Imo after the explosion was thrown and grounded at this location.
Self Created News Program of Halifax Explosion (TBA):
Below is a video that Luciano, Spencer, Matthew. D, and I created. It was to be set in a news program format. The filming of Luciano and I was mediocre but Matthew made our background very well which bolstered the project well.
Reflection:
Writing about this subject was fairly easy as it was all really just facts. The main challenge was the video because we had to act like news casters and that was slightly difficult because I am always awkward at these things. I hope that my next projects will have the quality of Matthew’s editing.