"What Storm, What Thunder" was inspired by conversations Chancy had with people throughout the world who were affected by the earthquake.

After the magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, 2010, headlines counting the casualties began pouring out — and seemingly would not stop. “At least 30 bodies,” reported the New York Times the following morning. “Tens of thousands of victims,” the Los Angeles Times said three days later. By the end of the month, nearly all outlets were reporting the astronomical figure: more than 250,000. 

In “What Storm, What Thunder,” author Myriam Chancy takes readers beyond the numbers into a riveting ensemble novel focused on the lives of 10 characters who were in Port-au-Prince, the epicenter, on that January day. The characters come from a variety of social classes and age groups, but they are all connected, directly and indirectly. 

Uh oh, it looks like you’ve hit a paywall! But don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Here are a few ways you can access this story.

Larisa is a reporter for The Haitian Times covering politics, elections and education primarily. A graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, she has interned at CNBC and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. She is also a recipient of a 2021 DBEI Fellowship by Investigative Reporters & Editors. Larisa can be reached by email at larisa@haitiantimes.com or on Twitter @larisakarr.