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The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday December 6 1917 at 9:04:35 a.m. local time in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada, when the French munitions ship Mont-Blanc, bound for World War I France, collided with the Norwegian ship Imo chartered to carry Belgian relief supplies. In the aftermath of the collision, Mont-Blanc caught fire and exploded, killing 2,000 people and injuring thousands more. The explosion caused a tsunami, and a pressure wave of air that snapped trees, bent iron rails, demolished buildings, and carried fragments for kilometres. This was the largest artificial explosion until the first atomic bomb test explosion in 1945 and still ranks highly among the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions.
Events
On December 1 1917 Mont-Blanc a 3121-ton freighter, nearly 100 m long, departed New York City as part of a convoy bound for Halifax. On board it carried: More on [ Halifax Explosion ]
Halifax Explosion 1917 Online Resources - From Nova Scotia Archives Records Management. Includes pictures, remembrance book, moving images and personal narratives.
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HalifaxExplosion.org - From Prince Andrew High School. Includes narrative, historical photographs, and transcripts of interviews with survivors. [MS Word required for some documents]
The Halifax Explosion - Companion site to CBC's outreach and partnership program. Features a detailed narrative of events before and after the explosion including a docu-comic, images, video files, and downloadable educational materials.
Meta Description: [ The comprehensive web site companion to CBC's innovative outreach and partnership program around the Halifax Explosion of 1917 . The goal is to tell the story of this epic Canadian event and examine how it affects our lives and communities today. Informative and educational materials are download... ]
The Halifax Explosion - From CBC Archives. Offers video and audio clips.
Meta Description: [ On Dec. 6, 1917, a collision in Halifax Harbour led to the biggest man-made explosion in the world before the era of the atomic bomb. The blast levelled most of the city and sent shards of glass and burning debris flying for miles. It left thousands dead, blinded or homeless. Although the explosi... ]
Tragedy on the Home Front - From Library and Archives Canada. Includes a panoramic view of the devastation and a selection of documents related to the event.
