A new study has found that Hurricane Maria caused almost 3,000 deaths in Puerto Rico, a staggering increase from the current official death toll of 64.
The new report was done by researchers at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health, and commissioned by the Puerto Rico government.
It found the hurricane caused 2,975 deaths on the island between September 2017 and February 2018.
The report found that elderly men, and those living in low-income areas were at the greatest risk of dying.
The devasting storm hit Puerto Rico on September 20 last year, with the Puerto Rican government initially blaming it for the death of 64 people.
The report did offer insight into why the initial death toll was so much lower than it's toll.
"The official government estimate of 64 deaths from the hurricane is low primarily because the conventions used for casual attribution only allowed for classification of deaths attributable directly to the storm," the report said according to CBS.
"We found that many physicians were not oriented in the correct appropriate certification protocol. This translated into an inadequate indicator for monitoring mortality in the hurricane's aftermath."
Newshub.
