Cecilia Coolen was just 10 days old when the Halifax Explosion hit, 98 years ago today. In the aftermath, she was discovered underneath her cradle.

Coolen says it was three years before she took her first steps.

"The cradle was thrown upside down and I was against the wall," she said. "They figured I must have hurt my legs or my back but one day I got up.... Once I started walking I never stopped."

Sunday morning more than 100 people huddled at the memorial site in Fort Needham Memorial Park for a moment of silence at exactly 9:04:35 a.m. AT, the time of the explosion. Coolen said it was important for her to take part in the memorial service.

"It's very emotional. And to think I lived to see it. There are not too many living that saw the explosion," she said.

On Dec. 6, 1917, the French cargo ship Mont-Blanc, fully loaded with explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel Imo in The Narrows, a strait between Halifax and Dartmouth.

A fire on board Mont-Blanc ignited the explosives in the ship's hold, causing the largest man-made explosion the world had ever seen.

The explosion levelled much of the city and sent shards of glass and burning debris flying for kilometres.

The blast was felt as far away as Sydney, N.S., 435 kilometres away.

When the smoke cleared, 2,000 people were dead and another 9,000 were wounded. Half of the city's population, 25,000 people, were left homeless.

'She didn't expect to see him again'

Among those who felt the power of the blast was Coolen's father, who was part of a crew of 45 men working on the waterfront.

"He didn't get touched. He didn't get a scratch. There was only eight men left. The parish priest called them the lucky eight," she recalled.

Through her life Coolen saw the city rebuilt after the devastation. She said she grew up hearing stories of that day.

"My mom and dad kept it alive talking about it.... She was so afraid that dad was killed that day, because a lot of men on the waterfront were killed, and when he came home she almost fainted. She didn't expect to see him again. It must have been so emotional for them," Coolen said.

A number of events were planned to commemorate the 98th anniversary.

At the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, commemorations include special discussions about the disaster and a ringing of the bell on the former survey ship Acadia, which survived the blast.

After the service, a public reception was to be held at the United Memorial Church on Young Street in Halifax. Halifax's regional fire department held a commemoration at the fire station on Lady Hammond Road.

A service of remembrance was also held in Dartmouth at Pinehill Park.