Grand Goâve ( ht, Grangwav) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Léogâne Arrondissement Léogâne ( ht, Leyogàn) is an arrondissement in the Ouest Department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 509,280 inhabitants. Postal codes in the Léogâne Arrondissement start with the number 62. The arondissement consists of the followi ...

in the

Ouest Ouest (French for west) may refer to: *Ouest (department), Haiti *Ouest Department (Ivory Coast), defunct administrative subdivision of Ivory Coast * Ouest Province, Cameroon * Ouest Province, Rwanda *Ouest-France, a French newspaper * West France ...

department of southwestern Haiti. The Rivière de Grand Goâve passes to the east of the town. It is bridged by National Route No. 2 to the south and forded by Rue Tonnere to the east.

History

The town is one of the oldest cities of the country, and was named ''Goâve'' by the

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

s. The Spanish called it ''Aguava'' at the end of the 16th century. After French colonization through the releasing of the Spanish, the French divided the city into two halves, Grand-Goâve and Petit-Goâve.

2010 earthquake

Grand-Goâve was 90% destroyed by the

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

of 12 January 2010. All public buildings were destroyed, including the schools, city hall, and police station. The trembling created a landslide which formed a

landslide dam A landslide dam or barrier lake is the natural damming of a river by some kind of landslide, such as a debris flow, rock avalanche or volcanic eruption. If the damming landslide is caused by an earthquake, it may also be called a quake lake. Some ...

that can potentially contain a large basin of water. A dam collapse would directly outflow the contents through the city. The dam is located on the Rivière de Grand Goâve, a dozen kilometres from the city. On the 19th, 1300 US Marines were deployed equally between Petit-Goâve and Grand-Goâve.

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

have been distributing the aid that the US military has been delivering. was deployed in Baie de Grand Goâve to help rebuild Grand-Goâve. As of 9 February 2010, the US

24th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a strength of about ...

is rotating out of Haiti, having been replaced by the US 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, in their position on and

Carrefour Carrefour () is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, groceries stores and convenience stores, whic ...

Léogâne Léogâne ( ht, Leyogàn) is one of the coastal communes in Haiti. It is located in the eponymous Léogâne Arrondissement, which is part of the Ouest Department. The port town is located about west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. L ...

, Grand-Goâve and Petit-Goâve.DVIDS
"22nd MEU Moves Into Carrefour"
22MEU, ''8 February 2010'' (accessed 10 February 2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand-Goave Populated places in Ouest (department) Communes of Haiti Port cities in the Caribbean