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After their adventure, Matt and Emily wanted to know more about Halifax, the explosion, and the aftermath. Turn the page for their favourite facts.

Emily’s Top Ten Facts

  1. Railway worker Vincent Coleman hurried to his telegraph office to warn two incoming trains about the explosion. He sent this telegraph: Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbour making for pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys.
  2. Coleman died in the explosion but his courage and warning saved 700 lives.
  3. As the French ship, the Mont-Blanc, exploded, its anchor was blown five kilometres (three miles) away from the harbour while its cannon was blown in the opposite direction.
  4. The Halifax Explosion caused such a big tsunami (wave) that the cargo ship IMO, which had collided with the Mont-Blanc, was lifted onto shore.
  5. Glass flew everywhere in the explosion. Windows were broken as far as 80 kilometres (50 miles) away.
  6. Right after the explosion, thousands of people in Halifax gathered on Citadel Hill to find out what happened.
  7. Everyone was afraid that the Germans had attacked. Eventually Canadian troops showed up and told them there was no more danger.
  8. Artist Arthur Lismer, who later became famous as a member of the Group of Seven painters, was in Halifax during the explosion and drew pictures of what he saw.
  9. Hilda Slayter Lacon was born in Halifax and survived the Titanic disaster in 1912. She later came back to Halifax with her son Reginald when her husband enlisted to fight in World War I.
  10. Hilda lived in the southern part of the city, which wasn’t as badly damaged as the north.

Matt’s Top Ten Facts

  1. Halifax was important in World War I because it has a deep harbour with a wide entrance, making it one of the world’s best harbours to anchor a ship.
  2. A ship is supposed to raise a red flag if it’s carrying explosives.
  3. The captain of the Mont-Blanc didn’t raise a red flag because he didn’t want the Germans to know that the ship was carrying explosives.
  4. The Mont-Blanc burned for 20 minutes as it drifted toward Pier 6 in the north end of Halifax.
  5. Crowds gathered on the pier to watch the fire. They had no idea the ship would soon explode.
  6. People as far away as Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick felt the vibrations of the tsunami that hit after the explosion.
  7. Over 1,600 homes and an entire Mi’kmaq tribe encampment were completely destroyed in the explosion.
  8. The captain, pilot, and five crewmembers of the IMO died in the explosion. One crewmember of the Mont-Blanc died. The Mont-Blanc’s captain had ordered everyone to abandon ship when the fire broke out.
  9. After the explosion, the IMO was repaired, renamed, and launched again. It sank in December 1921 after hitting a reef in the South Atlantic Ocean.
  10. Almost 2,000 people died in Halifax in the explosion.