Halifax explosion
- Also called:
- Halifax explosion of 1917 or the Great Halifax Explosion
- Date:
- December 6, 1917
- Location:
- Canada
- Halifax
- Nova Scotia
- Participants:
- Mont-Blanc
News •
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.
Shortly before 9:00 am the Imo, a Norwegian steamship carrying supplies for the Belgian Relief Commission (a World War I-era relief organization), headed out of Halifax Harbour and found itself on a collision course with the French steamship Mont-Blanc. Unbeknownst to others in the harbour, the Mont-Blanc was carrying 2,925 metric tons (about 3,224 short tons) of explosives—including 62 metric tons (about 68 short tons) of guncotton, 246 metric tons (about 271 short tons) of benzol, 250 metric tons (about 276 short tons) of trinitrotoluene (TNT), and 2,367 metric tons (about 2,609 short tons) of picric acid—destined for the French war effort. After exchanging warning signals, both vessels initiated evasion maneuvers but ultimately collided.
The French ship caught fire after several drums of benzol—a highly combustible motor fuel derived from coke-oven gases—tipped over on the deck, spilling their contents, which ignited, and the vessel drifted into a pier. As crowds gathered, drawn in by the rising pall of smoke, emergency personnel tried to control the damage. However, just after 9:04 am, the Mont-Blanc exploded. The blast and the resulting tsunami, which surged approximately 60 feet (18 metres) above the high-water mark, pressed some three blocks into the city. More than 1,600 buildings were destroyed by the wave, and debris was scattered for several miles. The force of the wave heaved the Imo toward the shore where it became grounded. In the aftermath of the explosion, hospitals were inundated with the wounded, and morgues struggled to identify and document the dead. News of the disaster spread quickly, and aid soon arrived from within Canada as well as from the United States.
The Halifax community remembers the disaster each December 6 with a service at the memorial bell tower located in Fort Needham Park. Internationally, the incident influenced the adoption of stricter maritime laws regarding cargo identification and harbour traffic control.