New Study Finds 1,139 Died as a Result of Hurricane Maria
About 1,139 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria, a number that is much higher than the official government estimate of 64, according to a study carried out by researchers at the Journal of the American Medical Association. The findings were made public on Thursday.
The researchers used official government records to calculate the number, which took into account not just those who died from the immediate effects of the hurricane, but also from secondary effects in the following
months.
When the researchers compared how many people actually died between September, when Hurricane Maria
struck, and December to the projected estimate, they found that approximately 1,139 more people died than
expected, based on previous patterns. There were an additional 459 deaths in September, 564 in October and 116 in November. By December, the death count had returned to levels within the historical range.
“Although August and July experienced lower numbers of deaths than expected, September and October
had higher numbers of deaths than expected, the number of deaths decreased in November, and by December had returned to a level within historical variation,” the study reads.
Read more: http://www.sanjuanweeklypr.com/pdf/Aug-03-18/local.pdf (Page 2 of 6)