Article 3R7Z5 Puerto Rico hurricane death toll likely “more than 70 times” official estimate

Puerto Rico hurricane death toll likely “more than 70 times” official estimate

by
Megan Geuss
from Ars Technica - All content on (#3R7Z5)
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Enlarge / A power line tower downed by the passing of Hurricane Maria lies on top of a house in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 7, 2017. The Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York estimated in a report released last month that about 114,000 to 213,000 Puerto Rican residents will leave the island annually "as a result of Hurricane Maria." (credit: RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images)

In Puerto Rico, the official government estimate for the number of people who died as a result of Hurricane Maria (the hurricane that struck the island in late September 2017) is just 64. But a new study from Harvard University, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, estimates that the true number is closer to 4,645-that is, more than 70 times the official estimate.

After Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, the island went for months without proper water, electrical, or cellular service. Alsom the island was briefly embroiled in a scandal in which a $300 million government contract to rebuild the electrical grid was offered to a company called Whitefish Energy under unusual circumstances.

Puerto Ricans have sharply criticized the government headed by Governor Ricardo A. Rossello. They claim it has been slow to restore street access from downed trees, as well as other basic utilities. The low "official" fatality count has contributed to the problem. Accurate measures of disaster-related deaths allow regions to properly prepare for future disasters and provide closure for families.

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