The world's largest explosion before the atomic bomb

With the power equivalent to 3,000 tons of TNT and causing waves of more than 15m, the explosion in Canada's Halifax port is considered the largest man-made explosion in nearly three decades.

In December 1917, World War I extended into the third year.Halifax, located on the east coast of Canada, plays an important port for shipping troops and supplies to Europe, according to Business Insider.(Photos: Nova Scotia Archives & Records Management / Wikimedia).

On December 6, 1917, a Norwegian cargo ship named SS Imo, departed from Halifax to New York, USA.The ship is making its journey starting from the Netherlands to transport cargo to Belgium.(Photo: Lectures pour tous / Wikimedia).

At the same time, SS Mont Blanc also prepared to return to France to carry many explosive materials including: 2,367 tons of picric acid, 62 tons of gunpowder, 250 tons of TNT and 246 tons of benzol in containers below deck ship.(Photo: Wikimedia)

To leave Bedford Basin, where the ships are parked, the two ships must pass through a narrow canal.Being late and moving in the wrong direction, Imo refused to give way and crash into the Mont Blanc train.Although the collision took place at a slow speed, the benzol barrels were still dumping, causing the fuel to burn.A few minutes later, Mont Blanc exploded with an impact of 2,989 tons of TNT.(Photo: Library and Archives Canada / Wikimedia).

The shockwave from the explosion covered 132 hectares of ground and leveled the Richmond residential area.The temperature at the time of the explosion exceeded 5,000 degrees Celsius. The water around Mont Blanc vessel evaporated and made a rising wave of more than 15 meters into the city.(Photo: Flickr).

The impact of the explosion lifted the ship Imo and threw the ship ashore.Mont Blanc was broken and completely destroyed.Hardly any parts on the ship remained intact after the explosion.(Photos: Nova Scotia Archives & Records Management / Wikimedia).

The 517kg anchor section of the Mont Blanc is buried, more than 3.2km away from the explosion.The barrel of a gun on a distant aircraft 5.6 km.(Photo: Vonkiegr8 / Wikimedia).

Most of the city was flattened, with 12,000 buildings destroyed or damaged to the point of being unable to live, leaving a large number of people where the wire fell into homelessness during the cold December weather.Nearly every window in the city crumbled within a radius of 80 km.Some buildings remained stable despite heavy damage.(Photo: US Library of Congress).

About 1,600 people died instantly in the explosion and 350 people could not survive after suffering many injuries.An estimated 9,000 people, or 22% of the city's population, are injured.(Photos: Nova Scotia Archives & Records Management / Wikimedia).

The number of casualties will be greater if Vincent Coleman, a railway dispatcher, does not decide to stop the ship carrying 300 people entering the platform in front of the burning ship.(Photo: L'Illustration / Wikimedia).

The Halifax explosion is considered the largest artificial explosion in human history until the United States developed an atomic bomb in 1945. (Photo: Wikimedia).