Halifax Explosion: Minute by Minute
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- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2024
- 100 years ago, the Canadian port city of Halifax was struck by one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history. How did it happen?
For more about the Halifax explosion, check out these links:
novascotia.ca/archives/explos...
newsinteractives.cbc.ca/halifa...
www.halifaxexplosion.net/halif...
www.halifaxexplosion.org/
The telegraph operator Coleman saved an estimated 300 lives with his message. He kept sending it and did not attempt to get to shelter, he knew he was going to die, but his message stoped a large passenger train just in time for them to not be within the blast radius before the ship detonated. His telegraph key, watch, and pen are kept on display in the Halifax Maritime museum of the Atlantic.
His wife and youngest of 4 children were injured in the blast but survived.
Like...every single thing that could have gone wrong, went wrong.
@Luke Fukushima couldve been far worse, there were literally 0 confirmed deaths. Hundreds were eviscerated during the halifax explosion, they don't compare.
@Luke Okay fair enough, its hard to compare tragedy anyways.
@Luke Yea I actually just watched that today. The shockwave destroyed people's windows, crazy scene. China said only 170 people died, bullshit, more like 1700.
@Luke I think Chernobyl would be a better comparson.
On purpose
I've lived in Halifax my whole life. All of the harbour area is newer buildings compared to the rest of the city and we have many ghost stories about what happened.
Also, the huge Christmas tree in Boston? That every year comes from Halifax as a thank you. They were one of the few cities that were able to offer aid during the war time.
Should be the next HBO mini-series after HBO's Chernobyl.
Would be interesting, but I doubt there would be enough information.
@@CardinalTreehouse The court battles over liability lasted for months after. As someone from Halifax, I can tell you that there is so much to be told. You can easily make a 5 episode mini series out of the explosion.
@@Benjiefrenzy I am from Halifax as well, but I don't think that 3 episodes of courtroom scenes would go over well.
@@CardinalTreehouse It doesn't need to be 3 episodes just for courtroom footage.
Bhopal disaster would be good aswell
2:41
Mont Blanc: "Move!"
2:46
IMO: "You move!"
It's a game of chicken that everyone lost
Exactly
Clara: "We know we're on the wrong side of the channel, but we're American so you have to move around us!"
And then at the last minute, both ships said, “okay, I’ll move.” But they moved into each other.
Technically the Imo was on the wrong side of the harbor. They should have moved.
Made me remember that plane accident that american pilots caused in Brazil and weren't punished at all even though hundreds died
The explosion was immediately followed by record cold and snow. The suffering continued for quite a while after the explosion. Yes, everything went wrong, It's like the devil visited the city for a while.
I'm glad you brought up the devil. It proves Beyond a doubt that they are actually two gods. There is a good God and there is certainly an evil God.
Actually there is only one God. He is goodness personified.
Then there is a created being who wants to be a god, can never be, and hates everything that is of God. He has been going around in a huge tantrum since being evicted from Heaven, causing trouble.
The devil is a facet of the psychotic psychopath God.
Or there is no God and no Devil and accidents just happen. Some accidents mean more to us than others, but we humans assign that meaning. Like rolling a dice that lands on 6 is nothing meaningful really but we humans give it more meaning. Not some invisible being.
Steven Weaver there is no god, the Bible is a story on how to live your life, you can’t think literally when reading scriptures like that it’s more like a teaching book to simpler minded people, think of god as more Mother Nature instead of a being in the sky, widen your mind my guy. The Bible is a book on life teachings that is half true and half outdated on the rules of life, like eating pork and different “sins” and what hell are is when you die with regrets it’s like “hell” because you die with regrets and depression and no inner peace, “heaven” is when you die in bliss and forgive yourself for your wrong doings and have no regrets just happiness, I can explain every single scripture and tell you what it REALLY means and teaches you about life, the Bible is just that written out in a story for simpler minded people that can’t understand creation, etc, evolution of the earth and yourself in general
You left out the part where the city of Boston has received it's yearly Christmas tree donated from the people of Nova Scotia (since 1971 according to Wikipedia) as a result of the aid that Boston gave in the wake of the Halifax explosion. Last year (2017) a special ceremony was placed a plaque dedicated to first responders with the Mayor of Boston, Halifax and the Premier of Nova Scotia present. As a Massachusetts native, this is a great source of pride between the cities of Boston and Halifax.
"First responders"?
They really shouldn't use a contemporary propaganda term in reference to something that happened 84 years before that term was created(9/11 2001).
Bradford hey thanks I forgot about the tree
@@HarryBalzak Contemporary propaganda term? First responder is a common term used to refer to police, paramedics, firefighters, and anyone else who has specialized training to respond to an emergency or crisis to save life. It's been in common usage in the English language for at least five decades. Educate yourself, and leave the tinfoil hat at home.
@@brianhouston5368 How is it even propaganda
@@brianhouston5368 I legitimately would not expect too much serious commentary from a fellow who clearly chose his username for the purpose of trolling. (say his username out loud)
He might have been serious, but even if he wasn't he isn't worth the time.
Superb and well made. The courage of the signalman who sent the message to hold up the train and simply signed, "Goodbye" is unreal. "Greater love hath no man than this" indeed.
I am Canadian
Why wasn’t this event included in our elementary or high school history classes? What a shame
It was in mine, but im from Halifax so...
It was in mine
It was in mine, in several grades in the 1970s.
Maybe the OP just wasn't paying attention during history class lol
It was in my classes in Ontario
3:31
I looked up Vince Coleman, and man that message gave me feels. Imagine sitting there, knowing you're about to be blown to smithereens, and being so casual about it.
He saved over 700 people that day.
"I was gonna die anyway. Might as well save some life while I can."
SoWhat1221 u
The goodbye at the end sums it up, he could have run but stayed at his post.
"Come on, COME ON! ACKNOWLEDGE!"
My aunt and cousin were killed by this blast. They died from their injuries a couple of weeks after the explosion. This happened 37 yrs before I was born. They were the wife and child of my oldest uncle.
RIP to your family
Lol 😂
your the same age as my dad
Bless
@@Yggdrasilkuru wtf
When I saw the explosion in Beirut, this was the first thing I thought of. A smaller fire and a little excitement pulled curious onlookers outside to witness the commotion. With everyone lulled into thinking they're just watching a fire, a massive explosion followed undoubtedly killing and injuring more than would have been harmed had the explosion just happened outright.
@Daniel Sherwood - I'd forgotten about that! It sure did didn't it? I remember reading a story about a teenager vacationing there from the UK (I think) with her family. She'd just studied tsunamis at school, recognized what was happening when the water went out and warned a lot of people to run thereby saving some lives. Curious bystander can be a deadly thing.
That's why you don't watch a big fire, you run away from it. Don't be the moth when there is a bright lamp.
Unfortunately, humans have designed weapons to work this way, from suicide bombers to Russian missiles that hit the shopping complex in Kiev. Double tap explosion - I'd rather be anywhere else.
Apparently this explosion was even greater than the Beirut explosion
@@garden0fstone736 yep, much much bigger. The Halifax disaster is by _FAR_ the largest non-nuclear explosion humans have ever created. It's nuts when you watch the videos of the Beiruit explosion, or the explosion of the factory in China, and then read about how the Halifax disaster was 10 times as big as those. It's impossible to even comprehend it. If only someone had been there to video it, but if they were then they'd be dead. So yeah. There was no reporter far back from the fire, safely recording it, like say with the Hindenburg disaster. We remember the Hindenburg disaster mainly because it was filmed, and so we've all seen it. But few people seem to know what the Halifax disaster is, and it's bigger than all of them. It was just extremely lucky that Halifax back then was a small fishing town basically. Not the big well populated city it is today. If the same explosion happened in Halifax today, the predicted amount of deaths is in the 50,000 range.
It's the closest thing to a nuke without being a nuke, ever
My grandfather, who lived in Cape Breton, told the story of hearing a loud rumble of thunder that morning, on what was a clear sky day.
The distance was about 200 kms. (130 miles)
bullshit you got this information off of Rob Gavagan XDXDXD the XD is to piss you off more you clown
@@footballsoccer358 XDXDXD be sure to change your jock strap regularly lol
footballsoccer358 Ok boomer
This was very well done, and MUCH easier to understand than trying to read about it - thanks for posting!
Yeah, reading is overrated, forces me to pay attention and concentrate.
- @dansokil and 135 gen-Z'ers
@@stejer211it is quite hard to get an accurate mental image of the incident from written accounts and records. Do you not see that it is far easier to understand visually how something happened from a video than it is a book?
@@bigkuriboh3814 It is also quite hard to detect humor and irony in a short text if you have decided in advance to take it dead serious.
@@stejer211 then make more of an effort to convey what you actually intend to.
@@bigkuriboh3814 You're taking this way too seriously.
Great background information and animation to help understand the event. It reveals a trait that is common to most accidents - that instead of one event causing an accident, they usually occur following a SERIES of errors, and correcting any one of them could have prevented the ultimate outcome.
1) The use of anti submarine nets increased the flow of traffic during permitted 'commute' periods, increasing collision risk.
2) The Imo's refueling delay altered its scheduled itinerary - conflicting with planned travel schedules.
3) It's bad enough if even one ship is in a rush, let alone that both were, let alone through a very narrow channel.
4) The SS Clara initiated a conflict by being in the wrong lane
5) The Imo avoided the Clara by going into a wrong lane.
6) Perhaps upon seeing the Clara/Imo conflict, the tugboat Stellamaris (spelling?) entered the wrong lane
7) Neither the Imo nor tugboat stopped or corrected their lanes before continuing into the narrowest part of the channel.
8) The Imo was wrong continue into the narrows at any speed
9) The Imo was wrong to decline the Mt. Blanc's signal for the Imo to return to its proper lane
Robin Nilsson Smart additions, especially precluding other ships from concurrently passing through the narrows.
Seems like Mont Blanc holds the least blame for the accident.
I’m reading John U Bacon’s “The Great Halifax Explosion”. Excellent book. Your amazing video brought up something I don’t remember from the book. To me, it was clear that the IMO was responsible because it was going much too fast, and refused to move into the right lane. I was unaware of the Clara and the Harris forcing the IMO into the wrong lane.
so the Clara and the Harris had no liability? They were the boats that drove the Imo into the wrong side of traffic......
Agreed.
Dave Stone I remember reading the Canadian Supreme Court appeal brief (mentioned at the end of this video) a few years back. I’m almost positive they cite the two ship’s captains as holding some responsibility for the event.
They had all the time in the world to correct course, you might as well start blaming the parents of the captain of the Imo for birthing an idiot if we're getting this far out. They were under 2 KPH when they collided, and this is after the Imo had slowed (it entered the Harbour going well above the harbour speed limit). It wasn't uncommon for a ship to be in the "wrong lane" in harbour, because the speeds are so low and the space for maneuvering existed. Even moderately capable captains would have avoided a collision with the same variables.
@@noneck8166 x
@@danepotmo2513 you have obviously never even driven a pleasure craft class boat. It takes so much time to stop that momentum
Great video, RUclips was missing a good, straight-to-the-point documentary about the Halifax Explosion.
Thanks! 60 Symbols also has a new video on the Halifax Explosion. They go into some of the chemistry about the Mont Blanc's cargo. Very interesting stuff!
Cameron *thoughts exactly; 800m radius - that's ~1 mile diameter !!
A fascinating mini-documentary with great graphics that clearly illustrate the subject and time frames. Congratulations. A worthwhile watch! ☺
Who is here after the Beirut blast
Me!
I
@@LocksAndChains Actually i was saying that Beirut was the second Halifax!
I mean, I’m here from both the Beirut blast and Tiajin explosion
Tiajin was bigger than Beirut, so I’m pretty sure Tiajin was the 2nd Halifax
Who is here the day of the Beruit explosion?
for the record 4th August 2020
I thought of the Halifax explosion the second I saw the video of the Beirut blast.
Grettings from Colombia. Yes, I'm fascinated by the historical content regarding natural disasters and human errors.
Was wondering if the Halifax explosion made a mushroom like explosion too... Beyrouth explosion was because of 3KT of ammonium nitrate... Does it really make this kind of sonic boom and mushroom cloud ?
hello from Beirut
Beirut was huge man
it destroyed half the city
my mountain house 15 km away has broken windows
It's crazy to think that the explosion in Beirut last year was only a third the size of this one, and that was massive
I learned about this in my intro to emergency management course back in college. This explosion, according to that class, ultimately lead to the emergency management standards we use today...
I serve as an EMT and pray, daily, that I never am called to a disaster like this one. I cannot imagine what it was like to have been responders on the scene.
Where my fellow Halifax ppl at?
VaRaX GD EH!!!! HERE!!!
in Halifax, duh
Aaaaaaay
Sup.
We're the haligonians boys
My grandfather's home was 5 miles away in Eastern Passage. Whole house shaking. Cracked windows. Otherwise O.K.
My Grandmother on my Mom's side survived it. She died in 1998. She used to talk about it, but I now wish I'd asked her more about it. One of her contemporaries,a neighbor of ours,also survived it.
My grandfathers home was about 1/8 of a mile from the basin. He told me stories that blew my mind . 🙏🏻❤️😇
In Halifax we can go see the remaining parts of both ships like the anchor and propellers
I've seen both anchors, but where are the propellers?
The Beirut Explosion is also quite similar to this
This explosion was more powerful than Beirut.
If u want similarity watch the tianjin explosion
if the beirut one was as powerful as this oh man.
There was another one in houston texas.
Almost the same tnt equivalent. Maybe.
My great grandmother was killed in this explosion. She was blown down followed by a piano that crushed her. My grandmother watched her mother die. Herself she lost an eye and was treated in Boston.
Thank you I grew up in Halifax with the story but this was the best telling I’ve seen in a while. My father and mother both had stories. The surviving pilot lived next door when my dad was a boy and mom lived in a house downtown that was crooked due to the explosion.
What about the two ships that were in the wrong lane in the first place? If they had been in the corridor lane the IMO would have passed the MONTE BLANC without incident.
2:36 "Get out of the way"
"No... No, I don't think I will"
Wtf
I think this is more of an "I can't so you move if you can" reply.
Huge boats with lots of momentum, they're very hard to suddenly turn unlike what the graphic showed.
Damn EMO.
The injuries were appalling so many people were blinded while watching this from windows, there was no safety glass back then
I'm from America so this is the first I'm hearing about this. Man, what an absolute tragedy for everyone and their families. Thank you for sharing this, it opened my eyes
Canada is part of America, I'm assuming you mean you are from the United States. But, your ignorance is typical for your country.
@@alanmacification . Not this ridiculous argument again! Canada is part of the Americas and it is part of North America, but it is not part of America. America (the singular form) has a well-established meaning. Language is dynamic and the meaning of words is determined by majority use. The term American is used to describe someone from the US; they are not known as 'United Statesians'. The US is America.
I guess you are both right
In spanish is "Estadounidense" determinated by the RAE, and "American" by the Oxford Dictionary and Merriam-Webster dictionary and any english speaker as demonym, not just as a refer to the continent. Saludos.
@@rahash80 That's interesting, but how is this relevant to the English term? The meaning of words is determined by the majority current usage. As a Canadian, I certainly don't want to be called an American. "American" has a well established meaning, as does "Canadian". Unless Americans adopt the English name 'Unitedstatesian' or similar, this will not change... and it's fine the way it is.
I live 3hrs away, I need to find more things from this there. First video I checked out on this channel pretty cool work. Definitely subbed.
Here after that Beirut explosion. Crazy sh*t!!!
Good video. Nice animations. Would love to see more videos like this
Check out Operations Room and Montemayor. They're combat focused, but they provide the same visuals and timeline format seen in this video. :^}
I lived in one of the original houses that survived the blast in the north end of Hali as a child. I use to think it was haunted by the child that died from the window glass that shattered into her neck from the blast wave over 1500 meters from the blast.
Brilliant video bud! Keep it up!
Amazing work. Thank you!
Hundreds of people were blinded or suffered severe eye injuries because they stood at their windows to watch what was happening in the harbour. The explosion shattered their windows, and the glass stabbed them in the eyes.
My Grandmother lived near Charlottetown PEI which is around 180 km (111 miles)from Halifax when the explosion happened, and she remembered feeling the ground shake when it happened. I grew up in Truro which is around 80 km (50miles) from Halifax and apparently there were windows cracking in town from the vibrations caused by the explosion.
Nice detailed breakdown of events
Keep the good work coming
fantastic animations. best explanation of this I have seen yet. looking forward to your future content.
Coleman was a chad.
“Hold up the train. A munition ship is on fire. Goodnight.”
Actually there was an explosion that happened near my home town of Burton on Trent UK in Nov 1944 where 4000 tons of bombs accidentally blew a massive crater into what was an Raf munitions store underground.Its known as the Fauld explosion.The crater is still there, along with a memorial to over 70 people who died.
Is this really your first video? If so, you did an amazing job :D you earned yourself a sub
Thanks! More videos should be coming soon!
Fantastic video. I really hope you make more.
2,000 innocent lives were taken because of someone’s careless actions
@helmi helmawan the explosive carry one is on the right side.
A wonderful woman whom I will call her my adopted Grandmother Bertha and was dearest friends of my Mother for well over 50 yrs. ( both now departed ). Grandma Bertha’s Mother was hit by glass shards that went into her brain. She passed away two days after the explosion and dear Grandma Bertha and her twin brother were then to be separated for over the next 65 plus yrs. Both young children were put in orphanages and dear Grandma Bertha suffering the loss of her parents, the loss of her home, the loss of her twin brother and the loss of everything she had known to be normal and above all, the Nuns in the orphanage would beat her over many years and many times. Many terrible stories would become reality due to this horrible accident that should never had happened. Much like the Titanic, greed, pride, stupidity were the causes of so much destruction and the destroyer of life, hope and what could have been.
Let it be known that this could happen again and so we must all be vigilant and pray that if ( God Forbid ) anything like this happens ever again that it does not include Nucleur Technology or worse.
One of those who came to provide aid was Samuel Prince. He went on to write a PhD thesis about the impact that is now recognized as the first academic writing in disaster studies.
you learn a new thing everyday. I never heard of this.
thank you.
I really enjoyed this the first time I saw it, and I'm going to watch it again. I love the way you do videos it is excellent.
Vince Coleman. Badass.
Great video. I subscribed. Keep it up, I will share your videos. I love interacting, educational, videos.
Great video! Thank you for posting it! Can I ask what software was used to create the animations? They are brilliant!
Thanks for the kind words! The ships and backgrounds were all done with Adobe Illustrator and the animation was in After Effects.
I first heard about this incident in the book 17 Minutes To Live. I was seven. I couldn't put that book down.
Now, I am a good deal older and know quite a bit about earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, atomic and hydrogen bombs, and asteroid strikes, and how powerful they can be. This event was virtually the prototype of our measuring such power. Little Boy, the Hiroshima bomb, was said by Time Magazine to be seven times as powerful in 1945.
THIS was 2.9 kilotons.
FWIW, my adoptive Grandfather, Frank Scott, was in Halifax when the explosion took place.
He was not injured.
He was visiting us one day, in BC.
I happened to hit my hand on top of our wrought iron railing. I liked the low throbbing sound it made... "throooom"...
Anyway, he was taken aback, and explained that sound reminded him of the explosion.
I guess the blast was too loud to hear. Our ears can only register so much.
woww and such an brilliantly narrated video
I'd say this is a case of being too busy, allowing a ship with that dangerous a cargo to sail through, without halting all other traffic and informing them of the cargo. The harbormaster definitely shares the blame.
That said, the captain of the Mont Blanc should also have waited for this information to be relayed to all vessels before sailing through, and raised the flags to indicate explosives on board.
that would have gotten them a torpedo
Excelent video, I hope you end up doing more :D
Best animation i saw till yet! Well done
The best part?
The SS Imo was originally the SS Runic, a ship built for the White Star Line. They can’t catch a break, can they?
Even better, they returned it to service, and it was lost under the name “Guvernøren” in 1921.
Very well done! How did you make the animations?
The ships and backgrounds were done in Adobe Illustrator and animated with After Effects
whos here in 2020?
no i'm from the future 2021
Excellent presentation; clear, accurate and informative. Well done.
During WW2, American planners studied the Halifax Explosion prior to dropping the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima and they concluded that maximum damage would result from an air burst above the city.
My grandfather was a kid at the time. He was late for school and tried to go around a route shorter than normal. The explosion blew him back between to buildings and he survived. I got to meet him in 1972..
"Port Chicago" (East of San Francisco) 1940s. different scenario yet potential of having the same amount of deaths. a neighbor told me about it when he was in his teens and living near there.
Finally, the story. I read about this but never knew the rest of the story. Thanks.
The next day 40cm of snow fell and temps dipped to -15C. ‘Insult to injury’ personified!
There was a huge explosion of a munitions train in Woodbridge NJ in the same time period
I am from a town called Wolfville (a 45 minute to an hour drive from Halifax). Apparently the Halifax explosion was so powerful that is caused china to rattle in the cupboards in the town.
Thank you, this is perfect for use in my classroom. Very appreciated!
Something similar seems to have happened in Beirut
Who's here after the Lebanon explosion
Great job..Thank you for making this.
Now almost same happend in Lebanon, Beirut ... RIP
As far down on Cape Island (3 hrs Southwest of Halifax) felt the rumble of the explosion. Rly puts the scale into perspective. It rocked the entire province!
An American, I have been in all 50 states and all 10 Canadian provinces. The rebuilt Halifax in my favorite city in the two countries. A resident of Halifax pointed out to me where the two ships collided.
Excellent graphics and description for the incident.
Edit... They also had a 16" blizzard snowfall the next day in Halifax... Must have been miserable.
Love the detail great job
Great animation. Very informative. Well done.
I live in Halifax
I lived in the area years ago. One day I saw this bloody big anchor on outdoor display about a mile from the harbour. I was thinking "odd place for that". Turns out that's where it had landed after the blast. Mind blown.
This was very helpful. I’m reading a book about this event and I had a hard time visualizing the collision.
This feels like when I'm walking on the same side as another stranger head on and imagining the worst that could happen
Why didn't the Imo just correct their damn course they had plenty of time
I've just read "Curse of the Narrows" about the explosion .IMO was running a day late and came out of her berth very fast that morning.Witnesses wrote that she was "light"and making quite a bow wake. Mount Blanc was moving very carefully because he knew what he had on board. He blew the first whistle to warn IMO she was off course. WE don't know why he didn't move except to say he was in a darned hurry.
Three minutes is not enough time to change the course of a huge liner.
@@ravenmoonspicer4781 Yep, a famous example is the Titanic.
Excellent video. Well done.
Excellent video. Very clear explanation and original images from actual event
Please make a video on what would happen if the hover dam collapsed. I live down river from the dam and always wondered how much danger I am in.
Essentially the exact same as bumping into a random person at the grocery store, and each person just keeps trying to get around...except in that case you don't blow up an entire city.
Being a Halifax native, i am very impressed by this vid! :)
weeb
Lunamaria are you guys still ok?
Nathan Long erm...Yeah
-1
Also a Halagonian, been aware of the event for more than 50 years, and this is the clearest explanation I've seen.
My family lost many family members in this explosion. We lost William Arthur Lovett and his son William Arthur Lovett and son's spouse Bertha Josephine Lovett and son's daughter Edna Frances Lovett only 3 years old, Alfred Lovett and his son Charles Lovett, and Ada E Lovett... The Lovett family lost many wonderful people... If you know anyone who is related to my family please comment or message me. We are looking for relatives. Thank you. Rest in peace my family.
Anybody realised that this explosion happend "Exactly" 100 years ago when the video was made
Good job on the video.
Well done! Thanks, for keeping history real. 👍👍
We still send a Christmas tree to the City of Boston every year as thanks for their generous assistance in the days following the blast.
Back when the USA and Canada were friends.
Great job on the vid!👍👍