Hurricane Maria death toll rises to 49 in Puerto Rico

[struggle4progress]

Associated Press
OCTOBER 20, 2017 11:50 AM

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello says the death toll from Hurricane Maria has risen to 49 in the U.S. territory after officials confirmed a death from a bacterial disease that spreads through animals' urine.

The governor did not identify the victim. Medical officials said the person died from leptospirosis. They are investigating at least 74 other suspected cases of the disease.

The illness is not uncommon in the tropics, particularly after heavy rains or floods. But the outbreak is elevating concerns about sanitation after the storm knocked out running water for much of the territory for weeks. About 30 percent of the island remained without water as of Friday ...

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/article179945101.html

[struggle4progress]

1. Real death toll in Puerto Rico is probably 450

Amulya Shankar, PRI's The World
Published 3:32 a.m. ET Oct. 18, 2017 | Updated 9:08 a.m. ET Oct. 18, 2017

... The official count is now 48 deaths. But the news site Vox thought that number seemed off.

"We knew from reports on the ground, and investigative journalists who've also been looking into this, that this was very likely way too low of a number,” said Eliza Barclay, an editor at Vox.

So they dug into the numbers, cross-checking with news reports, and found that the number of casualties resulting from the hurricane was probably much closer to 450.

Two members of Congress have now announced they will request an audit of the official death toll ...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/10/18/real-death-toll-puerto-rico-probably-450-much-higher-than-official-count/774918001/

[malaise]

2. We associate leptospirosis with rats here in Jamaica

and if someone remains untreated or is treated too late, they'll be dead in four days max. I know of three such deaths of folks I knew well.

[struggle4progress]

3. We Don't Know How Many People Died in Puerto Rico

By James Crugnale
Oct 19 2017 12:00 AM EDT
weather.com

... Spotty internet and downed telephone lines have made the effort to accurately report the death count from the storm difficult, especially in remote areas ...

... despite the president's optimistic statements, the true toll remains unclear.

John Mutter, a disaster expert at Columbia University who analyzed the numbers of dead in Hurricane Katrina, told CNN that based on what he's seen — the numbers should be considerably higher.

"It's just seems implausible that it could be so low," he said ...

https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-maria-death-count-higher-puerto-rico