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Hurricane Maria killed 2,975 in Puerto Rico: Government study

Hurricane Maria killed 2,975 in Puerto Rico: Government study

Hurricane Maria

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The study tracked excess deaths related to Hurricane Maria from September 2017 to February 2018, and found the toll was '22 per cent higher than the number of deaths that would have been expected during that period in a year without the storm'

A study commissioned by the US government has revealed that the number of deaths caused due to Hurricane Maria in 2017 was about 2,975 in Puerto Rico.

The report was long-awaited and raised controversies over the correct death toll from the storm.

The study recorded excess deaths related to Hurricane Maria from September 2017 to February 2018. It found that the toll was "22 per cent higher than the number of deaths that would have been expected during that period in a year without the storm."

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"The results of our epidemiological study suggest that, tragically, Hurricane Maria led to a large number of excess deaths throughout the island," said principal investigator Carlos Santos-Burgoa, a professor of global health at George Washington University.

An earlier report by the Harvard University had estimated around 4,600 deaths in the three months following the storm.

(With inputs from AFP)