What caused the largest non-nuclear explosion in human history in Halifax?
A French munitions freighter, SS Mont-Blanc, laden with 2 653 tonnes of TNT, collided with Norwegian relief ship Imo in a foggy harbour narrows. Fire broke out; 20 minutes later Halifax felt the largest human-made explosion before nuclear weapons—equivalent to 2.9 kilotons.
A shockwave levelled half the city, 2 000 people died, and a mini-tsunami erased a Mi’kmaq village. Yet within hours telegraphers reopened lines, Boston dispatched relief trains, and volunteers organised Christmas gifts for displaced children—proving civic resilience can burn brighter than any blast.
