Puerto Rico hurricane death toll revised to 2,975

White House pledges to support 'transparency' as Puerto Rico hurricane death toll revised to 2,975

By REBECCA MORIN

The White House on Tuesday said it will continue to support Puerto Rico's efforts to account for its dead after the toll from Hurricane Maria was raised from 64 to nearly 3,000 following the release of a report sponsored by the island's government.

"The federal government has been, and will continue to be, supportive of Governor Rosselló's efforts to ensure a full accountability and transparency of fatalities resulting from last year's hurricanes — the American people, including those grieving the loss of a loved one, deserve no less," according to a statement from the White House press office.

George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health said in a report commissioned by the Puerto Rican government that there were 2,975 deaths in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. The deaths were reported for the period between September 2017 through the end of February 2018.

Puerto Rico's official death toll of 64 was initially made despite multiple reports that many more people had died as a result of the hurricane.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said in a news conference Tuesday that the government will use the newly released estimate as the official death count. In addition, the governor said that a commission would help create recommendations focusing on public health and public safety. In addition, a new registry will be created for the most vulnerable people in Puerto Rico.

"There was a 45 percent higher probability of deaths in a municipality with lower socioeconomic conditions. We need to figure out a way that funding is used to give resiliency."

Earlier this month, Puerto Rico estimated in a report to Congress for a $139 billion reconstruction plan that 1,427 people were killed between September to December 2017.

The new estimate, however, is lower than an estimate in a study released by Harvard University in May, which said that 4,645 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria.

The White House on Tuesday said President Donald Trump "remains proud of all of the work the Federal family undertook to help our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico."

Trump in October drew criticism for a comment that Hurricane Maria had been less devastating than Hurricane Katrina. Katrina resulted in the deaths of 1,833 people, according to FEMA.

"Every death is a horror, but if you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina and you look at the tremendous — hundreds and hundreds of people that died — and you look at what happened here with, really, a storm that was just totally overpowering ... no one has ever seen anything like this," Trump said at the time.

The Trump administration is "focused on Puerto Rico's recovery and preparedness for the current Hurricane season," according to its statement.

"The federal government will continue to support the Government of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican communities in their recovery from Hurricanes Irma and Maria for years to come."