A woman places one of the hundreds of shoes in memory of those killed by Hurricane Maria in front of the Puerto Rico Capitol, in San Juan on June 1, 2018. Ramon Espinosa/AP
Puerto Rico’s Official Study On Hurricane Maria Deaths Puts Toll At 2,975
The study found Puerto Rico's government wasn't prepared to count deaths—or to respond to the disaster.
Despite an official count of just 64 deaths, Puerto Ricans have long insisted that hundreds died as a result of Hurricane Maria. Today, they got official confirmation.
A study commissioned by the island’s government found that 2,975 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico last September. The report, which was released Tuesday, was conducted by the Milken Institute School of Public Health. Its authors arrived at the number by comparing death trends in past years to the period after the storm.
That kind of analysis has been carried out by others, including other researchers and the media, with varying results. However, all of the independent counts put the toll in the hundreds. Quartz and Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism created their own tally based on an online survey of victims’ relatives.
The Milken Institute School, which is part of George Washington University, also looked at why the government vastly undercounted deaths in the first place. Part of the reason was because the government had not trained doctors on how to register natural-disaster-related deaths before the hurricane, although it did issue guidelines on how to do it afterwards.
In general, the researchers found the government was ill-prepared: key agencies had outdated emergency communication plans, or no plans at all. Writing and updating those plans are among the study’s recommendations.