Petit Goâve
Encyclopedia
Petit-Goâve is a coastal town in Ouest Department
, Haïti
. It is located 68 kilometres (42.3 mi) southwest of Port-au-Prince
. The town has a population of approximately 12,000 inhabitants.
and briefly became the "pre-capital" of the prosperous colony of Saint-Domingue
.
. On 20 January a strong aftershock of magnitude 5.9 Mw
struck Haiti. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that its epicentre was almost exactly under Petit-Goâve. The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported that the magnitude of the aftershock was 6.1, but they later revised that figure to 5.9
On the 19th, authorized by the Haitian government, 1300 US Marines were deployed equally between Petit-Goâve and Grand-Goâve. Spanish amphibious assault ship
Castilla is to arrive at Petit-Goâve beginning in February to assist in recovery efforts.
As of 9 February 2010, the US 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
is rotating out of Haiti, having been replaced by the US 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
, in their position on USS Bataan
and Carrefour, Léogâne and Petit-Goâve, Grand-Goâve.
Aid For Haiti (AFH) http://www.aidforhaiti.org, a US-based non-profit has been coordinating some of the local medical care in the area of Petit-Goâve. They are located at the Wesleyan Compound in Petit-Goâve.
The 400th episode of the radio program This American Life
, which aired in February 2010, featured a story on a university in Petit-Goâve.
In February 2010, this hospital was largely unusable due to damage from the earthquake. The Norwegian Red Cross ERU (Emergency Response Unit) has established their field hospital in the hospital and runs 2 fully equipped Operation Theaters and 2 ambulances with paramedics. Norwegian Red Cross support the hospital with electrical power, medical equipment and medicine.
Ouest Department
Ouest is one of the ten departments of Haiti. It is the jurisdictional seat of the national capital, the city of Port-au-Prince. It has an area of and a population of 3,093,698 . It borders the Dominican Republic to the east.It is the second largest department in Haiti after the Artibonite...
, Haïti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. It is located 68 kilometres (42.3 mi) southwest of Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
. The town has a population of approximately 12,000 inhabitants.
History
The town is one of the oldest cities of the country, and was named Goâve by the Amerindians. 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. Petit-Goâve became a wealthy settlement in the western half of HispaniolaHispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
and briefly became the "pre-capital" of the prosperous colony of Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
.
January 2010 earthquake
It was significantly affected by the 12 January 2010 earthquake2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
. On 20 January a strong aftershock of magnitude 5.9 Mw
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
struck Haiti. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that its epicentre was almost exactly under Petit-Goâve. The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported that the magnitude of the aftershock was 6.1, but they later revised that figure to 5.9
On the 19th, authorized by the Haitian government, 1300 US Marines were deployed equally between Petit-Goâve and Grand-Goâve. Spanish amphibious assault ship
Galicia class landing platform dock
The Galicia class is a class of two 13,900 t landing platform dock ships, belonging to the Spanish Navy. Built in Ferrol, their mission is to carry amphibious warfare by transporting the bulk of the Infantería de Marina....
Castilla is to arrive at Petit-Goâve beginning in February to assist in recovery efforts.
As of 9 February 2010, the US 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit 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 with a strength of about 2,200 personnel...
is rotating out of Haiti, having been replaced by the US 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit 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 with a strength of about 2,200 personnel...
, in their position on USS Bataan
USS Bataan
Two ships of the United States Navy have been named Bataan, after the Bataan Peninsula, the scene of doomed American resistance in April 1942.* The , was a light aircraft carrier that served in both World War II and the Korean War....
and Carrefour, Léogâne and Petit-Goâve, Grand-Goâve.
Aid For Haiti (AFH) http://www.aidforhaiti.org, a US-based non-profit has been coordinating some of the local medical care in the area of Petit-Goâve. They are located at the Wesleyan Compound in Petit-Goâve.
The 400th episode of the radio program This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
, which aired in February 2010, featured a story on a university in Petit-Goâve.
Notables
- Dany LaferrièreDany LaferrièreDany Laferrière is a francophone Haitian and Canadian novelist and journalist.Born in Port-au-Prince, Haïti, and raised in Petit Goâve, Laferrière worked as a journalist in Haïti before moving to Canada in 1976...
, Haitian-Canadian writer - Faustin Elie Soulouque (Faustin I), President of Haiti (1847–1849), Emperor of Haiti (1849–1859)
- Hubert Deronceray political leader
- Issa el Saieh, musician
- Wilson Bigaud, artist peinter
- Yves-Mary Fontin, poet-writer
Facilities
Petit-Goâve has a hospital, Notre-Dame de Petit-Goâve.In February 2010, this hospital was largely unusable due to damage from the earthquake. The Norwegian Red Cross ERU (Emergency Response Unit) has established their field hospital in the hospital and runs 2 fully equipped Operation Theaters and 2 ambulances with paramedics. Norwegian Red Cross support the hospital with electrical power, medical equipment and medicine.
External links
- Petit Goave 350 Development
- Reuters, "Petit Goave atlas of building damage assessment", 2 March 2010