Ouest (French, pronounced [wɛst] ) or Lwès (Haitian Creole; both meaning "West") is one of the ten departments of Haiti. It is located in south-central Haiti, linking the Great-North and the Tiburon Peninsula.
It is the jurisdictional seat of the national capital, the city of Port-au-Prince.
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Léogâne (French pronunciation: [leɔɡan]; Haitian Creole: 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 30 km (19 mi) west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Léogâne has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine, and architecture. It also holds importance for archaeological and historical sites such as Fort Campan.
The town was at the epicenter of the 12 January 2010 earthquake. Like Port-au-Prince, it was catastrophically affected, with 80–90% of buildings damaged. As Haiti is very poor, they couldn't afford earthquake-proof buildings.
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.
By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. Death toll estimates range from 100,000 to about 160,000; the Haitian government estimated the death toll to range from 220,000 to 316,000, although these figures are a matter of some dispute. The earthquake is the deadliest natural disaster of the 21st century for a single country. The government of Haiti estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. Haiti's history of national debt, prejudicial trade policies by other countries, and foreign intervention into national affairs contributed to the existing poverty and poor housing conditions that increased the death toll from the disaster.
The Tiburon Peninsula (French: Péninsule de Tiburon [penɛ̃syl də tibyʁɔ̃]; Haitian Creole: Penensil Tibiwon), or simply the Tiburon (French: Tiburon; Haitian Creole: Tibiwon), is a region encompassing most of Haiti's southern coast. It starts roughly at the southernmost point of the Haiti-Dominican Republic border and extends westward near Cuba, forming a large headland. Three of Haiti's ten departments are located entirely within the region. They are the departments of Grand'Anse, Nippes and Sud. A large part of Ouest department is also located in the region, with the capital, Port-au-Prince serving as the line of demarcation between central Haiti and the south. Half of Sud-Est is also located within the Tiburon Peninsula. The mountains on the peninsula are known as the Massif de la Hotte.
Gonâve Island or Zile Lagonav (French: Île de la Gonâve, pronounced [ɡɔ.nɑv]; also La Gonâve) is an island of Haiti located west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve. It is the largest of the Hispaniolan satellite islands. The island is an arrondissement (Arrondissement de La Gonâve) or Ouest-Insulaire in the Ouest and includes the communes of Anse-à-Galets and Pointe-à-Raquette.
Delmas (French pronunciation: [dɛlma]; Haitian Creole: Dèlma) is a commune in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti. Delmas itself is an urban continuation of the capital city. Delmas is also the location of much of the area's commercial and industrial enterprise.
The city is structured around the central Route de Delmas road, with neighborhoods named after the smaller roads branching off from it, going from Delmas 2 up to Delmas 99, as the road goes up the mountain to Pétion-Ville.
Tabarre (French pronunciation: [tabaʁ]; Haitian Creole: Taba) is a commune in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is part of the urbanized area of Port-au-Prince, just northeast of the main part of the city, and next to Delmas.
The Haitian government Autorité Aéroportuaire Nationale is based in Tabarre.
Carrefour (French pronunciation: [kaʁfuʁ] ; Haitian Creole: Kafou, pronounced [kafu], meaning Crossroads in English) is a largely residential commune in the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti. Port-au-Prince has a population of 1,234,742 while the commune has a population of 501,768.
Before the exile of Jean-Claude Duvalier, Carrefour was viewed as a Haitian tourist destination.