Dozens of bodies were found across Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria struck the island. The government of Puerto Rico reported an official death toll that was much lower than what the destruction may indicate.
The New York Times found that there were more deaths after the hurricane than the government of Puerto Rico recognized. The analysis indicated that 42 days after the hurricane passed, 1052 more people died.
“Before the hurricane, I had an average of 82 deaths daily. That changes from September 20 to 30th. Now I have an average of 118 deaths daily,” Said Wanda Llovet in November, Director of the Demographic Registry in Puerto Rico.
Statistics for October are not complete yet. However, the number of deaths for that month is expected to go even higher.
The worst day of fatalities was September 25th. Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo A. Roselló, warned of an imminent evacuation from the country.
President Donald Trump said via Twitter: “Food, water and medical are top priorities – and doing well. #FEMA.” The medical assistance was limited, and people on respirators were having trouble due to the lack of power.
135 people died on September 25th, 2017; 75 had died in 2016, and 60 in 2015. Due to the communications being down, the government was steady on their death toll of 16.
“Will it go up? I am pretty sure it will go up. It won’t double or triple. It’s not like an earthquake where you have a building and you don’t know whether there were 20 in the building or 300 in the building until you get all the rubble out,” said Puerto Rico’s Public Safety Secretary, Hector Pesquera, on September 29th. 127 died that same day, 57 more than last year.
Mr. Trump applauded the official low death toll, comparing the 1833 deaths from Hurricane Katrina, indicating that Katrina was a “real catastrophe.” “Sixteen people certified,” he said. “Sixteen people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people and all of our people working together.”
Mr. Pesquera said that the medical examiner is counting the indirect deaths, such as suicides, which caused the breach between the official death toll and the additional thousands to be so shocking. Several other causes were included in the deaths of September, such as diabetes, Alzheimer, sepsis, pneumonia, and emphysema, which caused a 50 percent increase in deaths over last year.
Puerto Rico’s Department of Public Safety insisted that it all was coincidental. Many people claim that most of the fatalities were for natural causes. CNN surveyed several funeral homes and found 499 more deaths associated with the storm.
Some experts agree that it cannot be coincidental. Worried about the situation, the government of Puerto Rico asked family members and morticians to provide them with more information.
This article was inspired by NYTIMES // Official Toll in Puerto Rico: 64. Actual Deaths May Be 1,052.