The Halifax Explosion and 1918 Flu

Disaster at Home

Front page of the Halifax Herald newspaper after the explosion. — <em>The Halifax Herald</em>, 7 December 1917

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The front page of *The* *Halifax Herald* on the day after the explosion was entirely dedicated to news about the explosion. Please find partial transcription below.
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THE HALIFAX EXPLOSION

On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship SS Mont Blanc collided with the Belgian Relief ship SS Imo after a serious miscommunication in Halifax Harbour. To most onlookers, the fire which erupted on the deck of the Mont Blanc seemed innocuous enough; what many people did not realize was that the ship was loaded with more than 2,500 tons of explosive material. As the vessel burned and the crew abandoned ship, people gathered on the Halifax waterfront and in shop windows to watch the proceedings. Even as the crippled Mont Blanc drifted towards Pier 6 with artillery shells on board exploding at irregular intervals, few could have predicted the devastation which was to follow.

Just before 9:05am, the Mont Blanc exploded. The force of the blast levelled huge portions of the city, the shock being felt as far away at Sydney, Cape Breton, a distance of over 400 kilometres. The sky was filled with soot and shrapnel, and whole city blocks were destroyed. Piles of rubble stood everywhere, and fires burned in ruined buildings throughout the city, but the degree of human tragedy only became apparent in the hours and days which followed. Nearly 2,000 people were killed instantly, and another 9,000 were wounded, many blinded and maimed by flying shards of glass. Many thousands more had been made homeless.

Emergency and military personnel, as well as civilian volunteers, worked tirelessly to rescue victims, extinguish fires, give medical aid to the injured, and gather the remains of the dead. Trains from throughout the Maritimes, as well as from Central Canada and New England, were swiftly dispatched to deliver aid, a gesture acknowledged annually to this day when the Government of Nova Scotia ships a huge Christmas tree to Boston as a token of Halifax’s appreciation for the aid provided by that sister port city.

The areas of Halifax devastated by the explosion were eventually rebuilt. The memory of the disaster, however, continues to loom large in the public memory of the region. No other event brought the horror of war to the Canadian home front as devastatingly as the Halifax Explosion.

Black and white photograph. A destroyed city, viewed from the waterfront. Skeletal structures, rubble, and charred trees are all that remains. — General View of Destruction (1)

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Black and white photograph. Train tracks in immediate foreground. Some structures visible in distance. The foundation and rubble of a building is seen in the centre of the photo. Charred trees and snow on the ground is visible. — General View of Destruction (2)

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Black and white photograph. Train tracks in the immediate foreground. Snow, rubble, charred trees, and the ruins of buildings can be seen everywhere. Notable, a destroyed rail car is visible. — General View of Destruction (3)

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Black and white photograph. Train tracks extend into the distance. A blown out building can be seen; it is still standing but skeletal. Rubble and debris are everywhere. Trees are charred and broken. — General View of Destruction (4)

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Black and white photograph. Survivors walk along a narrow path through the debris, away from the shoreline. The skeletal remains of a large building are on the left. — Explosion Aftermath

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Black and white photograph. A group of soldiers digs through debris, searching for victims of the explosion. They wear long winter coats. The skeletal remains of a building are visible on the hill beyond them. — Soldiers Searching for Victims

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Black and white photograph. Snow, rubble, charred trees, and the ruins of buildings can be seen everywhere. Houses with their windows blown out go far into the distance. There is evidence of dust in the air. — Explosion Damage

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Black and white photograph. A variety of buildings are shown in ruins. Factories are in operation in the distance. A body of water is visible on the left side of the photo. — Southward View of Halifax after the Explosion

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A southward view of Halifax after the explosion on 6 December 1917, showing the extent of the destruction.
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THE 1918 FLU

Disaster of another kind befell Canadians in 1918-19 when tens of thousands of Canadians succumbed to the worldwide influenza pandemic, known at the time as “The Spanish Flu.” Unlike most influenza, this strain tended to kill the young and hearty. The flu was brought to Canada by troops returning from around the world, allowing it to make its way into even the most remote communities. This scourge wiped out entire families and communities; when added to the nation’s grim war toll, Canada had lost in excess of 110,000 people from 1914-1919. The social consequences of this would be felt until the outbreak of another war twenty years later.