96th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion
Posted Dec 6, 2013 06:50:21 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It all began when two ships collided in Halifax harbour, resulting in a catastrophic explosion that killed close to 2,000 people and injured 9,000.
A pressure wave of air snapped trees, bent iron rails, and demolished buildings around the city.
Historian Blair Beed told News 95.7, the blast leveled much of what is now known as Halifax’s “north end”.
“It was a mixed neighbourhood of industrial, residential, shops and churches, then all of a sudden two square miles of it are gone,” said Beed.
He said the explosion preceded modern day media so word travelled slowly about the blast and there was no way to warn on-lookers to prepare for danger.
“It was the excitement, ‘There’s a ship on fire come on let’s look. Oh my goodness, the barrels on board are blowing up like fireworks, come on let’s have a look.’ And especially for the school children in the north end who weren’t yet in school. This was an attraction and down the hill they went,” explained Beed.
According to Beed, the explosion was heard as far away as Truro and the rumbles were felt in PEI.
A memorial will be held this morning at the bell tower at Fort Needham Park from 8:50 to 9:20 a.m.
