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The Halifax Harbor Explosion: History of the Atlantic Region
The world has witnessed a few incidences where explosions caused by the human race have claimed many lives and caused wide-scale destruction. The Hiroshima bombing is recorded as the largest man-made explosion of all time. Before this incident, in 1917, the world witnessed the first largest-ever explosion. It happened in Halifax Harbor, involving a collision between two sea-bound vessels. Records indicate one of the ships, the Imo, was docking when it collided with the already docked SSMont Blanc. There was a serious explosion that caused enormous deaths and numerous casualties and destroyed almost half of the city. Since the above-mentioned incident, maritime agencies have worked to improve disaster response, relief, and recovery. More secure shipping regulations and vessel design qualifications have been established to promote maritime safety. The Halifax Harbor explosion created a firm foundation for healthcare nursing sector, and major reforms have been initiated to reduce similar incidences.
The Halifax Explosion was one of its kinds, and it was the most devastating maritime occupational hazard of its time. The escape happened after a collision between two ships releasing approximately three kilotons of energy that destroyed half of Halifax and Dartmouth city. The SSMont Blanc was a French cargo ship loaded with munitions that contributed to the immense explosion after colliding with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo. The French vessel was under guidelines to deliver her cargo from New York through Halifax to Bordeaux (Rostis, 2019). On the other hand, the Norwegian ship was a chattered relief vessel to collect supplies in New York and deliver them to Belgium. The ships collided at low speed, mainly because the SS Imo vessel was unladen and invisible in the early morning darkness. Sparks from the collision ignited the munition on the French ships deck, causing a massive fire outbreak.
As mentioned above, the explosion in coherence with collapsing buildings, fire, flying debris, and the shockwave from the blast, half of Dartmouth city, located at the Halifax harbor, was destroyed. The explosion set off a massive shockwave that grounded buildings and destroyed all nature within half a mile of its radius. Vessels around the harbor sank, including the Imo ship that was later washed ashore by the Tsunami formed after the explosion. Along with the city, approximately 2000 people died, and roughly 9000 were severely injured (Rostis, 2019). The number of victims can be explained by the lack of reliable responders to contain the fire and provide relief for the injured. If the fire on the SSMont Blanc could have been contained, the explosion that resulted from the collision could have been avoided.
The world still celebrates in the remembrance of the Halifax explosion that happened over a century ago. A prominent exhibition was established to commemorate the incident and is showcased across prominent art galleries. The maritime disaster revealed to marine agencies and the healthcare sector of Canada that precautions and better medical initiatives were required to handle similar emergencies (Baker, 2018). The incidence resulted in the establishment of the Halifax Welfare Bureau, tasked with training medical employees and developing advanced medical institutions. The most iconic change that resulted from the explosion was that the nursing sector received more appreciation and was tasked with more responsibilities since their role during the escapade was irreplaceable.
Conclusively, the Halifax harbor explosion created a firm foundation for healthcare nursing sector. During and after the explosion, nurses were actively involved in tending to the casualties and providing first-aid treatment. Furthermore, the explosion caused massive destruction, loss of lives, and numerous casualties. Infrastructure and nature within half a mile of the blast radius were completely annihilated. The munitions on the SSMont Blanc contributed to the massive exposition that almost destroyed the whole of Dartmouth city. The maritime organizations and the healthcare sector have made drastic improvements to ensure that similar incidences are better handled.
References
Baker, L. (2018). New approaches to the Halifax Explosion. Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region, 47(2), 151-156. Web.
Rostis, A. (2019). One hundred years of certitude? Disaster response and recovery since the Halifax explosion. In D. Werle, M. J. A. Butler, D. Griffiths, and I. Porter, The future of ocean governance and capacity development (pp. 431-435). Brill Nijhoff. Web.
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