Puerto Rico has increased its official Hurricane Maria death toll to 2,97 in light of a new report by researchers from George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.
The new figure is 46 times higher than the previous estimate released in December 2017, when the government claimed 64 people had died in the storm.
“We are using the best science available ... to be able to give a sense of closure to all of this,” Governor Ricardo Rossello said. “The truth is there is a lot of work to do.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
CNN notes that the new death toll is “only an approximation, not a concrete list of names”.
New York congresswoman Nydia Velazquez said the report shows that the US response to Hurricane Maria failed the Puerto Rican people.
“These numbers are only the latest to underscore that the federal response to the hurricanes was disastrously inadequate and, as a result, thousands of our fellow American citizens lost their lives,” she said in a statement.
More than 8% of the population has left Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria struck in September last year, and the local government has struggled to rebuild its shattered infrastructure.
The island, home to more than 3.3 million US citizens, is “asking US Congress for $139bn (£108bn) in recovery funds”, the BBC reports
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
October 2 editorial cartoonsCartoons Thursday's political cartoons include ICE on the prowl, Democratic Party leverage, and a difference between Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
-
Manchester synagogue attack: what do we know?Today’s Big Question Two dead after car and stabbing attack on holiest day in Jewish year
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
