Puerto Rico increases Hurricane Maria death toll to 2,975
Officials in Puerto Rico now say 2,975 people died following Hurricane Maria - a devastating storm that struck the US island territory in September 2017. The revised death toll is nearly 50 times the previous estimate of 64. Governor Ricardo Rossello "accepted" the findings in a long-awaited independent investigation. The mayor of the capital, San Juan, accused the US government of deliberately downplaying the impact of the storm. Puerto Rico has struggled to repair its infrastructure and power grid since the storm, and is asking US Congress for $139bn (£108bn) in recovery funds. "I'm giving an order to update the official number of deaths to 2,975," Governor Ricardo Rossello told reporters on Tuesday. "Although this is an estimate, it has a scientific basis." In a statement, the White House said the federal government supported the governor's efforts to "ensure a full accountability and transparency of fatalities" in the hurricane. President Donald Trump was criticised for praising the federal response to the hurricane-ravaged island in the weeks following the storm.Critics accused him of showing more concern for residents in Texas and Florida after they were hit by hurricanes. Why the change in numbers? The authorities have faced criticism for underreporting the toll of Maria - the most powerful storm to hit the region in nearly 90 years. Until now, the official figure was 64 - even though the island had previously acknowledged the death toll was probably much higher . In the wake of the disaster, some experts estimated as many as 4,600 deaths . San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz told the BBC that there had been "neglect" by the Trump administration and some local officials hadn't wanted to confront the president about the need for more aid. "It seemed like it was better to dance to President Trump's tune than to tell the truth that we were all seeing." she said. "I did was I thought ought to be done as I screamed, literally, out of the top of my lungs to say 'We're dying here' and the bureaucracy and the inefficiency of the federal government was killing us."
Officials in Puerto Rico now say 2,975 people died following Hurricane Maria - a devastating storm that struck the US island territory in September 2017. The revised death toll is nearly 50 times the previous estimate of 64. Governor Ricardo Rossello "accepted" the findings in a long-awaited independent investigation. The mayor of the capital, San Juan, accused the US government of deliberately downplaying the impact of the storm. Puerto Rico has struggled to repair its infrastructure and power grid since the storm, and is asking US Congress for $139bn (£108bn) in recovery funds. "I'm giving an order to update the official number of deaths to 2,975," Governor Ricardo Rossello told reporters on Tuesday. "Although this is an estimate, it has a scientific basis." In a statement, the White House said the federal government supported the governor's efforts to "ensure a full accountability and transparency of fatalities" in the hurricane. President Donald Trump was criticised for praising the federal response to the hurricane-ravaged island in the weeks following the storm.Critics accused him of showing more concern for residents in Texas and Florida after they were hit by hurricanes. Why the change in numbers? The authorities have faced criticism for underreporting the toll of Maria - the most powerful storm to hit the region in nearly 90 years. Until now, the official figure was 64 - even though the island had previously acknowledged the death toll was probably much higher . In the wake of the disaster, some experts estimated as many as 4,600 deaths . San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz told the BBC that there had been "neglect" by the Trump administration and some local officials hadn't wanted to confront the president about the need for more aid. "It seemed like it was better to dance to President Trump's tune than to tell the truth that we were all seeing." she said. "I did was I thought ought to be done as I screamed, literally, out of the top of my lungs to say 'We're dying here' and the bureaucracy and the inefficiency of the federal government was killing us."
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