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Canada In The 20th Century

The Halifax Explosion

Introduction In 1917, on December 6th Halifax witnessed a great tragedy which is now known as The Halifax explosion.	Before the Explosion During WWI the port of Halifax was a very busy place for military warships and merchant vessels. The city was very bustling with the coming and going of all the ships. Before the explosion Halifax was known for the nicest ice-free harbour. Halifax was an awesome, useful place during the war until it all went wrong	The Boats The two merchant ships that crashed were named The Imo and the Mont-Blanc. The Mont-Blanc was the ship that was carrying the explosives. On the day of the tragedy the Imo was supposed to be picking up relief supplies for the citizens of belgium.The Mont-Blanc was a french munition ship that was sailing to join a convoy. The Mont-Blanc was full of multiple kinds of explosives like benzol, picric acid, TNT and gun cotton.
The Explosion The Imo was in the wrong during the crash. It was leaving the harbour while the Mont-Blanc was coming in the Imo was going too fast and wasn't in their lane they were sailing to far to the left that they hit the Mont-Blanc creating a fire that soon made black smoke, filling the air.The captains tried to warn each other but it wasn't enough to stop the collision.Around 9:00 am the Mont-Blanc exploded. The explosion also created a tsunami.	After Math The people of Halifax were devastated. About 2,000 people were killed in the explosion, 9,000 were injured. This explosion ruined houses which left people homeless even in the blizzard that occurred the day after. It also tore down 1,500 buildings. The overall damage cost was about 35 million dollars.	Memory of the explosion Over the years Halifax has created many plaques and markers to remember the day of The Halifax Explosion. They created a shelter for the homeless because during the explosion many families were homeless because their houses were torn apart. Fort Needham Park is where the memorial that every year people come around to visit on december 6th to remember all the victims lost in the Halifax Explosion.

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