Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, caused an estimated $90 billion in damage to the U.S. territory. (Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
May 29, 2018
A study published Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine estimates that nearly 6,000 people died in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, with a survey indicating the mortality rate is likely more than 70 times the highly contested official death toll of 64.
\u201cWe knew the claim that only 64 people died was a lie. \nhttps://t.co/NJMS8060zo\u201d— People for Bernie (@People for Bernie) 1527603920
Researchers with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center surveyed thousands of survivors and initially estimated that at least 4,645 people died between when the storm struck the U.S. territory on September 20, 2017 and the end of the year.
\u201cA key line from that Puerto Rico study: Their estimate of 4,645 dead after Hurricane Maria \u201cis likely to be conservative.\u201d In terms of loss of human life, that\u2019s a tragedy deadlier than 9/11, and it happened right under our noses. https://t.co/sQmL8H2ivZ\u201d— Matt Pearce \ud83e\udd85 (@Matt Pearce \ud83e\udd85) 1527606501
However, considering that they could not survey people who lived alone and died due to the hurricane, researchers adjusted the estimate to 5,740. Citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study says deaths can be attributed to the storm "if they are caused by forces related to the event, such as flying debris, or if they are caused by unsafe or unhealthy conditions resulting in injury, illness, or loss of necessary medical services."
The findings bolster a series of damning independent reports that have disputed the official death toll. Pressure from those reports pushed Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello to recruit researchers from George Washington University to review the government's process of accessing deaths tied to the hurricane and produce an analysis that is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Pointing to that government-funded analysis, the Harvard study notes that its findings "will serve as an important independent comparison to official statistics from death-registry data, which are currently being reevaluated, and underscore the inattention of the U.S. government to the frail infrastructure of Puerto Rico."
The hurricane decimated the island's infrastructure, particularly its debt-ridden electrical system. According to the National Hurricane Center (pdf), Maria caused an estimated $90 billion in damage, making it the third-costliest tropical storm since 1900, behind Katrina in 2005 and Harvey, which struck the Southern United States last year.
\u201cAt least 4,645 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria and its aftermath, per a new @Harvard study. That's more than twice the Katrina death toll. Yet the official government count still stands at 64. It's as if those folks never existed. https://t.co/MX8ra422EG\u201d— Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645 (@Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645) 1527607159
Despite the widespread devastation and the humanitarian crisis that followed, accounts from journalists and locals have shown that the response by the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress has been largely inadequate. The Harvard researchers found that "delayed or prevented access to medical care" was the "primary cause" of post-Maria deaths, accounting for about a third of all deaths reported by surviviors.
As San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a fierce critic of the federal relief efforts, declared six months after the storm, "things are not what they should be...due to neglect and bureaucracy."
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.)--who has also sharply criticized the administration's response and spent months advocating for greater government investment in recovery efforts--said the Harvard study "confirms my worst nightmares," calling it "confirmation of an American tragedy."
While Puerto Ricans and sympathetic politicians fight for the funds to rebuild the island, the region is bracing for this year's hurricane season amid warnings that territory is not prepared for another intense tropical storm.
\u201cPuerto Rico, Day 251:\n\u2014Tens of thousands of people are still w/o power\n\u2014Tens of thousands of people are still w/o clean water\n\u2014At least 4,645 people are dead\n\u2014For these people and their families, Hurricane Maria is still a humanitarian emergency\n\nHurricane season starts in 3 days https://t.co/1BsQ6E9QKL\u201d— Eric Holthaus (@Eric Holthaus) 1527603418
"This isn't over," tweeted novelist Laila Lalami in response to the study. "Puerto Rico is still struggling with services."
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A study published Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine estimates that nearly 6,000 people died in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, with a survey indicating the mortality rate is likely more than 70 times the highly contested official death toll of 64.
\u201cWe knew the claim that only 64 people died was a lie. \nhttps://t.co/NJMS8060zo\u201d— People for Bernie (@People for Bernie) 1527603920
Researchers with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center surveyed thousands of survivors and initially estimated that at least 4,645 people died between when the storm struck the U.S. territory on September 20, 2017 and the end of the year.
\u201cA key line from that Puerto Rico study: Their estimate of 4,645 dead after Hurricane Maria \u201cis likely to be conservative.\u201d In terms of loss of human life, that\u2019s a tragedy deadlier than 9/11, and it happened right under our noses. https://t.co/sQmL8H2ivZ\u201d— Matt Pearce \ud83e\udd85 (@Matt Pearce \ud83e\udd85) 1527606501
However, considering that they could not survey people who lived alone and died due to the hurricane, researchers adjusted the estimate to 5,740. Citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study says deaths can be attributed to the storm "if they are caused by forces related to the event, such as flying debris, or if they are caused by unsafe or unhealthy conditions resulting in injury, illness, or loss of necessary medical services."
The findings bolster a series of damning independent reports that have disputed the official death toll. Pressure from those reports pushed Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello to recruit researchers from George Washington University to review the government's process of accessing deaths tied to the hurricane and produce an analysis that is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Pointing to that government-funded analysis, the Harvard study notes that its findings "will serve as an important independent comparison to official statistics from death-registry data, which are currently being reevaluated, and underscore the inattention of the U.S. government to the frail infrastructure of Puerto Rico."
The hurricane decimated the island's infrastructure, particularly its debt-ridden electrical system. According to the National Hurricane Center (pdf), Maria caused an estimated $90 billion in damage, making it the third-costliest tropical storm since 1900, behind Katrina in 2005 and Harvey, which struck the Southern United States last year.
\u201cAt least 4,645 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria and its aftermath, per a new @Harvard study. That's more than twice the Katrina death toll. Yet the official government count still stands at 64. It's as if those folks never existed. https://t.co/MX8ra422EG\u201d— Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645 (@Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645) 1527607159
Despite the widespread devastation and the humanitarian crisis that followed, accounts from journalists and locals have shown that the response by the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress has been largely inadequate. The Harvard researchers found that "delayed or prevented access to medical care" was the "primary cause" of post-Maria deaths, accounting for about a third of all deaths reported by surviviors.
As San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a fierce critic of the federal relief efforts, declared six months after the storm, "things are not what they should be...due to neglect and bureaucracy."
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.)--who has also sharply criticized the administration's response and spent months advocating for greater government investment in recovery efforts--said the Harvard study "confirms my worst nightmares," calling it "confirmation of an American tragedy."
While Puerto Ricans and sympathetic politicians fight for the funds to rebuild the island, the region is bracing for this year's hurricane season amid warnings that territory is not prepared for another intense tropical storm.
\u201cPuerto Rico, Day 251:\n\u2014Tens of thousands of people are still w/o power\n\u2014Tens of thousands of people are still w/o clean water\n\u2014At least 4,645 people are dead\n\u2014For these people and their families, Hurricane Maria is still a humanitarian emergency\n\nHurricane season starts in 3 days https://t.co/1BsQ6E9QKL\u201d— Eric Holthaus (@Eric Holthaus) 1527603418
"This isn't over," tweeted novelist Laila Lalami in response to the study. "Puerto Rico is still struggling with services."
A study published Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine estimates that nearly 6,000 people died in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, with a survey indicating the mortality rate is likely more than 70 times the highly contested official death toll of 64.
\u201cWe knew the claim that only 64 people died was a lie. \nhttps://t.co/NJMS8060zo\u201d— People for Bernie (@People for Bernie) 1527603920
Researchers with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center surveyed thousands of survivors and initially estimated that at least 4,645 people died between when the storm struck the U.S. territory on September 20, 2017 and the end of the year.
\u201cA key line from that Puerto Rico study: Their estimate of 4,645 dead after Hurricane Maria \u201cis likely to be conservative.\u201d In terms of loss of human life, that\u2019s a tragedy deadlier than 9/11, and it happened right under our noses. https://t.co/sQmL8H2ivZ\u201d— Matt Pearce \ud83e\udd85 (@Matt Pearce \ud83e\udd85) 1527606501
However, considering that they could not survey people who lived alone and died due to the hurricane, researchers adjusted the estimate to 5,740. Citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study says deaths can be attributed to the storm "if they are caused by forces related to the event, such as flying debris, or if they are caused by unsafe or unhealthy conditions resulting in injury, illness, or loss of necessary medical services."
The findings bolster a series of damning independent reports that have disputed the official death toll. Pressure from those reports pushed Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello to recruit researchers from George Washington University to review the government's process of accessing deaths tied to the hurricane and produce an analysis that is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Pointing to that government-funded analysis, the Harvard study notes that its findings "will serve as an important independent comparison to official statistics from death-registry data, which are currently being reevaluated, and underscore the inattention of the U.S. government to the frail infrastructure of Puerto Rico."
The hurricane decimated the island's infrastructure, particularly its debt-ridden electrical system. According to the National Hurricane Center (pdf), Maria caused an estimated $90 billion in damage, making it the third-costliest tropical storm since 1900, behind Katrina in 2005 and Harvey, which struck the Southern United States last year.
\u201cAt least 4,645 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria and its aftermath, per a new @Harvard study. That's more than twice the Katrina death toll. Yet the official government count still stands at 64. It's as if those folks never existed. https://t.co/MX8ra422EG\u201d— Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645 (@Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645) 1527607159
Despite the widespread devastation and the humanitarian crisis that followed, accounts from journalists and locals have shown that the response by the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress has been largely inadequate. The Harvard researchers found that "delayed or prevented access to medical care" was the "primary cause" of post-Maria deaths, accounting for about a third of all deaths reported by surviviors.
As San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a fierce critic of the federal relief efforts, declared six months after the storm, "things are not what they should be...due to neglect and bureaucracy."
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.)--who has also sharply criticized the administration's response and spent months advocating for greater government investment in recovery efforts--said the Harvard study "confirms my worst nightmares," calling it "confirmation of an American tragedy."
While Puerto Ricans and sympathetic politicians fight for the funds to rebuild the island, the region is bracing for this year's hurricane season amid warnings that territory is not prepared for another intense tropical storm.
\u201cPuerto Rico, Day 251:\n\u2014Tens of thousands of people are still w/o power\n\u2014Tens of thousands of people are still w/o clean water\n\u2014At least 4,645 people are dead\n\u2014For these people and their families, Hurricane Maria is still a humanitarian emergency\n\nHurricane season starts in 3 days https://t.co/1BsQ6E9QKL\u201d— Eric Holthaus (@Eric Holthaus) 1527603418
"This isn't over," tweeted novelist Laila Lalami in response to the study. "Puerto Rico is still struggling with services."
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