Could The Death Toll From Hurricane Maria Have Been Manipulated?

On September 20, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. One of the most powerful storms in decades, Maria left widespread devastation. Now, three weeks later, 90 per cent of the island survive without electricity. Many of the residents don't have access to running water and there's a real threat of epidemics.

Meanwhile, Trump has been playing his game. He has insulted the mayor of San Juan, reminded Puerto Rico of its debt towards Wall Street lenders and, just yesterday, he hinted at pulling federal assistance from the island. The mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, replied with a letter saying the islanders would be "left to die".

At the same time, the Federal Government is bragging about its management of the crisis. The official death toll stands at 45, which is remarkably low for such a disaster and aftermath. To give you an idea, 77 people died during Harvey's floods in Texas. Katrina killed almost 2,000.

This article analyses the official figures, and compares them with stories from the ground and expert opinions, and the findings are blood-curdling. Just by analysing the press in Spanish, they found 81 deaths and 69 people missing, plus another 450 fatalities that could be attributed to the storm.

The source of the conflict is the lack of official guidelines to establish the death toll. The second problem is logistics: By orders of the governor, only the general coroner in San Juan can determine if a person has died as a result of the storm. The authors have found several reasonable hints that point to the fact that the death toll may be much higher than officially announced. And deaths keep happening.

This article is a prime example of how excellent journalism can be done with a telephone, an internet connection, and a good dose of skepticism. The authors have done a fantastic job at explaining their methodology, too.

If that wasn't enough, they have already brought about a political reaction.