December 11, 2017
Counting the number of deaths after the passing of a tropical system is necessary for many reasons. It can help communicate the scope of a tragedy, but it's also important to help emergency officials better prepare for future events.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, it appears the number of fatalities in Puerto Rico was far underreported. According to a new investigation from the New York Times, more than 1,000 people may have been killed by the storm and its aftermath on the island; officials in the U.S. territory have only announced 64 of those deaths.
Since Puerto Rican officials did not include these hundreds of deaths in their official toll, Times reporters gathered this information by studying mortality data and comparing it with the number of deaths the island would typically see in the fall months if no hurricane hit.
"Before the hurricane, I had an average of 82 deaths daily," Wanda Llovet, the director of the Demographic Registry in Puerto Rico, told the Times. "That changes from Sept. 20 to Sept. 30. Now, I have an average of 118 deaths daily."
https://www.wunderground.com/news/2017-12-11-hurricane-maria-death-toll-puerto-rico-new-york-times-investigation
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