DID YOU KNOW…
The Halifax Explosion: A Pre-Atomic Blast That Leveled a City
Did you know? In 1917, the Halifax Explosion in Canada, caused by a collision between two ships, became the largest man-made explosion prior to the atomic age, killing nearly 2,000 people and devastating the city.
On December 6, 1917, the French cargo ship Mont-Blanc, laden with 2,925 tons of high explosives, collided with the Norwegian relief ship Imo in the Halifax Harbour. The subsequent fire on the Mont-Blanc ignited its highly volatile cargo, causing a catastrophic blast that generated a 60-foot tsunami and leveled two square kilometers of the city. The explosion was so immense it registered on seismographs as far away as Boston and even hurled a section of the Mont-Blanc's anchor two miles inland. The disaster left 9,000 people injured and over 25,000 homeless.
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