Puerto Rico had a significant increase in deaths following Hurricane Maria in 2017, according to a new study.
Researchers determined that an estimated 2,975 people died in the five months following Hurricane Maria compared to the prior year. The independent study, from George Washington University’s Milken School of Public Health, was commissioned by the Puerto Rican government.
The study examined the number of deaths between September 2017 and February 2018.
The official government death toll currently stands at 64, according to the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety.
In the aftermath of Maria, deaths did not discriminate by social level or age group, the report found. Yet the risk of death was 45 percent higher for people living in low socioeconomic development towns and for men 65 years or older, the report showed.
The finding comes after nearly a year of questions, uncertainty and political sparring over the human toll of the storm.
President Donald Trump visited the island in the days following the storm.
“If you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina, and you look at the tremendous hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that died…. 16 people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people,” he said.
In February, Puerto Rico’s governor, Ricardo Rossello, announced that George Washington University would lead efforts to review the death count associated with the storm. The Milken Institute School of Public Health is heading an independent effort in partnership with institutions on the island.
A number of academic studies showed a wide range for the potential death toll on the island.
Data from the Office of Demographic Registry in Puerto Rico showed a spike in the number of deaths on the island following Maria.
The GWU report also offered a blistering criticism of Rossello and his government, saying there was “inadequate preparedness and personnel training for crisis and emergency risk communication.”
