In other words, the cruelty, stupidity and ineptness of Trumps response to the Puerto Rican hurricane manages to eclipse even George W. Bushs catastrophic mismanagement of Katrina.
1
Puerto Ricans!! Please come to Florida and register to VOTE!! What the GOP has done to you is unconscionable. I wish the UN would offer to intervene and help you, since the USA isn't.
It is sad to see anyone suffer and die. Mother Nature can be very cruel to us mortals. Regarding the "mystery disease" among employees at the US embassy in Cuba, it is possible that bats are to blame. The chirping noises and rustling sounds could be caused by bats, and there are known cases of mysterious illness and death later proven to be cause by rabies from bat bites.
1
While their power grid is operating at 70% of capacity - find out what the transmission capability is. My guess is that far more than 30% of the population is without power because while power can be generated it can't be distributed to where it is needed because the hurricane took out all the transmission lines.
Are those additional pneumonia and emphysema deaths related to diesel fumes from the generators? That would make them power outage related and hence storm-related.
I applaud the New York Times for conducting and reporting this analysis. There is almost no question that Maria is responsible for these deaths.
When one is seriously ill, it is best for a loved-one to call for medical help, except in Puerto Rico, the telephones did not work. One could attempt to get to a hospital, except roads were blocked and gas was scarce. Even if you managed to make it to a hospital, the electricity was out, medical supplies were low, and the hospital staff was overwhelmed. One could remain at home, but without power, water, and even the basic necessaries of life, it is hard to imagine that families could cope with a seriously ill person. Especially for a protracted emergency stretching for months. So deaths due to Maria in the weeks to months afterward are not hard to understand at all.
Obfuscating the cause of these American deaths does not serve the people of Puerto Rico. The story of how these people died should, at the least, honestly portray the ongoing tragedy and human toll of hurricane Maria.
I'm heart sick! If this was a military operation, wouldn't the commander be court-martialed and receive a prison sentence? And our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico are still without power in many jurisdictions and suffering!
Certainly this is no surprise to anyone. FEMA under-reporting deaths while Trump heralds great FEMA success under his administration.
It's absurd that Trump imagines journalists won't check the validity of his claims. Well more accurately, he doesn't care that his statements are discovered as falsehoods since he built the Trump Empire on falsehoods. He assumes his lawyers can clean up the bankruptcies and.or make "low cost" out-of-court settlements.
Simply stated; Trump is a snake oil salesman.
2
Perhaps our prodigious scientific counting skills have gotten somewhat misdirected towards things less humanitarian because that’s where the money is?
When will the people of Puerto Rico stop complaining about the failures of the American taxpayers to provide everything they need to make their lives whole again, and actually start taking responsibility for rebuilding their own lives? Remember, these are the same people who voted against statehood, and let their own corrupt political leaders and bureaucrats take them into bankruptcy and economic failure.
One of the greatest negligence scandals in US history. Am deeply ashamed to be an citizen of such s heartless country.
3
The island's economy was is shambles long before the hurricane. The island's electrical grid had not been maintained for years due to lack of funds. I'm sure the health infrastructure was in similar shape for similar reasons. Comparing Puerto Rico with Florida and Texas after a hurricane is just wrong, very wrong.
Blaming the deaths and the destruction that occurred primarily due to the island government's lack of planning and preparation on the president of the United States is petty partisan stupidity at it finest. Thank you NYT you keep making it so much easier to not chose the party of your choice.
Big tax cuts for corporations but nothing for Puerto Rico. Senator Grassley said that folks could have 5Million of they had invested it instead of wasting it on booze, women and movies. Republicans racism is showing again.
2
Let's call a spade a spade, Trump knew very well what he was doing by withholding help for Puerto Rico. He counted on his base (the uneducated he claims to love) to see Puerto Ricans as Mexicans because they speak Spanish. As we know, his base believe that all Mexicans are rapists, crooks and the lowest form of Life. I doubt that they understand that Puerto Ricans are United States Citizens.
How many times has my wife (a highly educated Psychologist born in Argentina and an American citizen), been asked about tacos or working as a chambermaid in hotels...because they hear her Spanish accent. Since Trump has been President, those comments have changed to "go back to Mexico" and "We don't want your kind". This and Puerto Rico is about prejudice and ignorance.
Forgetting the smaller islands, lets look at Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know which areas will receive the aid and which won't.
Once again, just shameful!
1
The Trump administration's response to the disaster in Puerto Rico, compared to hurricanhit in Texas and Florida, was not only inept but openly racist. Most disgraceful of all was the fact that the U.S. hospital ship treated only 6 Puerto Ricans a day while hundreds of beds stayed empty. Whatever general was in charge of that effort should be fired, along with the FEMA officials and the Army Corps of Engineer officers responsible for restoring power. It makes me ashamed to be an American.
1
It would not surprise me at all to learn that the hurricane had caused many more deaths than President Trump estimated, nor that they would have been less if more aid had been given. However, I consider it to be irresponsible journalism to state that the actual deaths may be 1,052, without any mention of the statistical uncertainty such as is commonly included in poll results, etc. How many people died altogether? What is the normal year-to-year variation? Please address such questions in the name of honest reporting.
Remember: As much of Puerto Rico was drowning in the hurricane, Trump tossed out rolls of paper towels.
2
For those blaming Puerto Rico for being scammed by profiteers, including their own people, lining their pockets, here are a couple of reality checks:
This is a case study of what will happen to us if we continue to enable kleptocrats who don't care about people, the continuing economy, or a habitable planet, only their sleazy excessive profiteering.
"Profiting from Puerto Rico’s Pain: Hurricane Maria finally scared away debtholders. But other vultures continue to feed off the island."
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/profiting-from-puerto-rico...
And the incomparable - and wicked good researcher - John Oliver:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt-mpuR_QHQ
5
If only the NYT would be concerned about the plight of PR caused by the corrupt government, and not simply as a means to a political end, I wouldnt be so disgusted.
If Clinton was president, would you print any of this?
Of course if Clinton was president the answer to all of this would be to just throw hundreds of millions of dollars to
criminally corrupt politicians, only a fraction of which would trickle down to the most needy.
I just pray when the dust settles, the DOJ and FBI throws hundreds of the island's politicians and government employees in federal prison. In America.
17
Clinton is not president, Trump is. It is obvious to everyone that Trump wanted a low mortality rate so that he can boast, and throw paper towels at people in a shelter.
Like most long term reports, this one won't make it to the many Trump apologists, I do commend you for reading this though. Rosello and Trump, are both incompetent, inexperienced politicians that just care about visuals.
3
I wonder now if this qualifies as a real disaster according to Trump?
6
The folks aren't the correct MAGA hue..
Yes but they speak Spanish and their skin is kind of brown-ish, and Trump didn’t “win” Puerto Rico because they don’t get to “vote” for president. Why exactly would we expect Republicans to care?
14
But the November jobs number was good. Get your priorities straight.
4
Dumb question ... what is the advantage to falsely stating that the excess deaths were not due directly or indirectly to the hurricane ? ... or to the local public health personnel even pushing this ... we heard months ago that there were possibly cremations prior to all causative data being known ... is this all about decreasing FEMA money to families of victims, or further negative publicity about the incompetence of the interventions or are there other issues ... simply by listening to or reading news reports it was obvious that the numbers were multiples higher than those stated ...
6
This is about Trump claiming great success in his federal response.
You see, less than a 100 people died! Compare to Katrina was 1800! MAGA
5
In my opinion, this mass death, is due to neglect, incompetence, sociopathy, total lack of compassion and empathy, by Trump, cabinet, FEMA, and others, not only failure of leadership but malicious leadership ...
1
This should be a major scandal all by itself Americans.
19
Yes, but they have been given a lot of paper towels.
That should help something.
8
I am certain that Trump deliberately bankrupted PR to the point of paralysis and then directed the formation of a record hurricane to devastate the island. He then encouraged FEMA employees to take a few days off. Trump, the GOP, and all of their supporters are that diabolical!!
4
That's funny. I'm only certain of stuff that actually happened, like leaving a hospital ship sitting around for weeks and awarding a no-bid $300 million contract to two guys who just happen to live down the street from a well-connected Trump cabinet member.
1
Actually Puerto Rico was bankrupted by several administrations over 40 years. This was well documented on public radio either WGBH or WBUR. I t needs to escape from the clutches of the nefarious entity with which it is associated.
With the way they'd been spending money with Whitefish - thought the urban centers on the island would be as lit up as Times Square or Kabukicho, by now...
Wager those scoundrels will walk away with somewhere between $10M and $30M of the original $300M...
8
Trump photo op: Tossing rolls of paper towels into the crowd.
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz: wading in water up to her hips , bullhorn in hand, guiding people to safety in San Juan.
Mayor Cruz: Slamming a binder full of bureaucratic red tape on a desk while she pleads for water, food and basic necessities.
Trump:16 people dead.
Reality: probably over 1,000 deaths (more than likely many could have survived with a quicker response).
Based on an eyewitness account from a friend who just returned from PR last week....almost 50% of the island still has NO ELECTRICITY!
ELECTION DAY - NOVEMBER 6, 2018
332 days away.
18
At the very least, a President should be a big enough man to admit that he made a mistake and will work harder to never let that happen again. You cannot say you did a great job when you obviously failed. What is even hard for me to understand is why NO politician, Senator, Congressman, Governor, has not spoken up to find out what happened! After Katrina they studied things to see what happened so the same mistakes were not made again. Should that be done with Puerto Rico. I know it is hard because it is an island. In the middle of water. A lot of water. But it is our job. What would happen if it was Hawaii?
10
What mistake did Trump make? It's been local Dems that have been running PR into the ground from the start.
When Trump made his ignominious visit to the island, tossing papers towels and insulting the mayor of San Juan, he specifically commented on the amazingly low death rate in Puerto Rico resulting from the hurricanes, as if congratulating himself that he had had something to do with this 'miracle'... There was no miracle. Hundreds and hundreds died in the immediate aftermath of the storms due to lack of care and attention. The press must continue to scrutinize the reality of what happened and bring it forward. 'Trump/Maria' should resonate with all Americans, just as 'Bush/Katrina' does.
11
There is never a good time and never a good preparation when Hurricane pummels a place. Maria's great fury could not have devastated Puerto Rico at a worse time when it was least expecting it and its economy was in shambles. No one can expect people to live forever anywhere and when such natural calamities occur, death is hastened for those who are frail and unable to take care of themselves. This was not a man made disaster but it was a natural disaster waiting to happen. After Maria, thousands were fleeing to the mainland leaving behind and many besides the thousands of FEMA personnel were going to PR but even that may have not been enough. It is unfortunate that the actual deaths may have been 1000 but I can only think where all the blame should rest and that is on Maria and the misfortune that fell on the PRicans. May those who died in PR rest in peace.
4
Number 45 and his FEMA brigade have their hands in this, so what should we expect? If given a choice, I'd side with the NYTs's numbers. FEMA is useless and we already have our opinions about #45. The government Lies to us and we've come to accept it as the norm. That FOOL must Go!!
6
The sad part is that Puerto Ricans, spcially the elderly and middle aged were taught to not complain but to deal and manage their situation. Also, people here do not run to the courts and file lawsuits as much as our counterparts in the States. The Governeent here knows that. As a result, they feel no fear or made accountable. You would have read about the many lawsuits filed by now if this disturbing lack of response, acknowledgement and resposibility had been experienced in the States. How many have we heard of in PR so far?
8
Thank you for doing the digging to expose the lie. Now the obvious question is motive. It is a no-brainer that there would be zero incentive, from a local standpoint, to so egregiously suppress the official death toll. Death tolls bring sympathy and aid - they are one of the chief indicators of the seriousness of a disaster for those at a distance, in this case the international community.
So it is not hard to imagine the quid pro quo that incentivized the Puerto Rican officials' departure from normal standards and practice, to carve a death toll in the hundreds (and now over 1000) down to a "non-catastrophic" 62.
Not hard at all to imagine Trump: "Listen, I don't want a Katrina (that was a REAL catastrophe), I want a WIN - so here's the DEAL: you keep the death toll down (I'd say under a hundred will work for me) and you get aid; give the world a REAL count and GO FISH."
That's how the Art of the Deal works - except they forgot that there are other ways to find out how many died, such as by comparing rates with baselines. And wait till the cholera kicks in.
3
Trump made a showy display of "doing his part" after the hurricane devastated much of Puerto Rico. He threw our fellow citizens rolls of paper towels.
7
I am grateful to the New York Times for bringing forward the obvious.
The death toll in Puerto Rico is only beginning to emerge.
I was afraid nobody would ever ask, but this is a good start.
25
Let Republicans 'back in power,' and they'll show us all how to govern. With dominance in all three branches of government, we see that Republicans' ideas of governing really amount to abuse and neglect. Is this what they call "winning?"
I'm ashamed of the country I've served, in both military and civilian roles. This government is disgusting.
60
The actual number of deaths in Puerto Rico attributable to Hurricane Maria will now become an entirely political issue and will never be the subject of an official count. Trump partisans will deny that the number is any higher than 62 deaths, lest the President be charged with failing to adequately aid Puerto Ricans in their hour of need--a charge that would inevitably be labeled "fake news."
Republicans have already seized on the number 62 and Democrats will seize on the highest estimate. As always in this highly partisan political environment Republicans and Democrats will only be able to agree on one thing regarding the final reckoning of the dead in Puerto Rico--that one of them is crazy.
1
so in the grander scheme, the number of dead is immaterial to the politicians - sad.
5
While there is little doubt many of the additional deaths were indirectly due to the hurricane, until we know more details on the causes of death, the ages of those who died, etc. + monthly variation in deaths it is difficult to attribute the number of deaths due to the hurricane at this point. And notice by early OCT the daily number of deaths fell below 100 and has stayed there (unless of course there is a reporting problem). Which suggests, given the state of the infrastructure in PR and the difficulty of getting supplies to the island, etc., that there was little the US guv could have done to prevent these indirect deaths. The Puerto Rico guv, however, certainly should have planned for such an emergency. Maria was not the 1st major hurricane to hit PR.
Did the PR guv even know which people were at risk, where they were, and the meds they needed? If the PR guv didn't know, how could the US guv have helped? There really isn't much of an excuse for PR not being prepared for the increased risk for people already in at risk populations after a natural disaster.
And doing a little research, the last 2 hurricanes to hit PR, Hugo in 1989 -- 12 fatalities -- and in 1998 Georges hit -- no fatalities but 1/3 of the island lost power. NOW, what is interesting that in both 1989 & 1998 the number of deaths jumped about 800 over the prior year. Don't have the monthly data but that certainly is intriguing.
11
Ralphie, death is final. No amount of prevarication will alter that fact.
This is not about politics, it is about humanity itself.
This result lowl for what will eventually emerge as a fatal (literally) lack of compassion for a colony profiteers have exploited for its lax and louche laws, enabling greed to the max while ignoring the plight of real people. Real flesh and blood human beings, just like you and me. I know you don't care, you think life itself is political rather than vital, but them's the facts.
12
Those exact stats are in ten separate paras here, and there are two graphs.
What is the matter with you people? Oh, never mind, I already know: you're Trumpists.
1
The only number that matters to Trump is the 10 out of 10 he gave himself on the response to Puerto Rico's disaster.
17
Is there anything that Trump does positive to care for the People of the USA and Costa Rica?
3
But, But...they had the very best paper towels.
14
How about a congressional investigation? Anyone? Rep Darryl Issa wouldn't it be nice actually investigate actual wrong doing, for once?
14
I'm sure that when President Trump reads this article, he will tweet that we must revise the death toll upwards. He'll want the truth, not some fake number like 62 deaths. Believe me.
4
The outright lies being told by FEMA and Trump are just prologue to what will be said as the death tolls of US citizens, caused by lack of affordable health care, start to climb when the effects of the Republican robbery of the social service obligations of the government start to take effect.
13
I am not at all surprised. Just another example of the complete moral and ethical black hole that is our federal government at the moment.
19
How about bringing charges against Trump for "depraved indifference to human life" with 1,052 counts?
And his appalling indifference to the suffering by people who're victims of hurricanes has been manifest.
15
This horrifying account of what's going on needs to be in print daily. Puerto Rico should have been made the 51st state years ago. The marvelous gentleman who wrote "Hamilton' has helped galvanize help with JLO. I would summon informed, empathic playwrights confront this dilemma with a battery of new plays telling the truth and offering strategies to help. The Playwrights Strategy helped with volunteering collecting food and clothes and conjured "Puerto Rico Magick."
3
“Sixteen people certified,” Mr. Trump said. “Sixteen people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud of all of your people and all of our people working together.”
This shows how Trump just cares about how he looks. Everything is a marketing opportunity for his giant ego.
This atrocity in Puerto Rico cannot be swept under the rug. Please NY Times, keep reporting on this story.
11
"The Times’s analysis found that in the 42 days after Hurricane Maria made landfall on Sept. 20 as a Category 4 storm, 1,052 more people than usual died across the island."
This, of course, depends on how you define people.
4
We're talking about Puerto Ricans dying, not Americans. They owe a lot of money. Their infrastructure is so bad you can't watch golf tournaments without interruptions. Their island's recovery would cost Americans a lot. Best to minimize the deaths. Give them paper towels to wipe up the blood, sweat and tears. Move on. Republicans have bigger issues...like digging coal mines.
2
This is excellent reporting; thank you NYT. While I certainly understand why the federal administration wants to downplay this, I am surprised that it has taken this long for the Puerto Rican government to work to publicize these numbers. Were they prevented from doing so? Was there some benefit to local government for keeping the numbers low? This is a moral shame to our country and needs to be rectified, and that will not happen without shouting the numbers from the rooftops. Although, after seeing many comments in response to the Napa fires, even in this liberal newspaper, along the lines of "Too bad for you democratic Californians, you should have supported Trump", I'm beginning to wonder if our country is too fractured to care for its citizens.
6
The federal government's response has been DISGRACEFUL! Of course, aside from throwing paper towels at people, Trump only wants to make sure PR repays the debt it owes to predatory hedge fund and Wall Street types. Let's not forget that part of that debt is his fault thanks to *another* golf course deal of his declaring bankruptcy and leaving PR holding the bag. Everyone that voted for him should be ashamed - and considered complicit in a lot of these deaths.
14
Could there be a criminal case here in Trump's failure to execute the duties of his office and thereby cause excess mortality numbering in the 100s or even 1000s, and continuing to this day? I would like to think that there could be an impeachment case here, too, in his failure to effectively execute the duties of the Presidency. But the Republican Congress would never support it. Come on, legal eagles. Is there a case for Manslaughter here? Could the City of San Juan make a warrant for his arrest? Could a non-U.S. power make a warrant under Universal Jurisdiction and a jus cogens claim?
94
It is a moment of shame those of us living through this historical moment will be held accountable for in the future. We will be remembered as the people who stood by and watched our coup'd government choose to let some of our fellow citizens die for no reason whatsoever.
Let Puerto Ricans vote, and have full citizenship and representation. "Statehood" matters little if we accept them as fellow Americans, with the full rights and privileges thereof.
2
Whose surprised?
The effect is that hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans are moving to Florida and in 2018 will be a major force in the elections there. As American citizens, they will exercise their right to vote.
They won't forget this.
13
Don't count on it. 100,000's of people from high taxes states are driven to Florida too. They will vote Republican.
4
Those voters from high tax states aren't blind. They see citizens being shafted and may hedge their vote so don't count on them - they aren't stupid.
The price to pay to MAGA, right?
1
Remind me. What was President tossing out to Puerto Ricans just after the hurricane? Was it paper towels? Something absurd and foolish.
22
Stalin never acknowledged the Ukrainian famine deaths. And we know how much Trump admires Russian leaders.
53
I wish print media, especially headlines would stop going along with the march toward dictatorship.
Stop the euphemisms. Call a lie a lie. Not misspoke, misstate, misused, repurposed reimagined or alternative reality. A lie.
9
Kill the government. Provide no money; so there will be no one to even provide the real truth.
What a classic conservative compassion.
25
Things like death tolls in Puerto Rico do not matter to majority party in power.
Why, you ask?
1) They don't speak English very well.
2) Their skin is generally not very white.
3) They can't vote for President, and if they did, they would probably vote for the Democrats.
4) The mayor of San Juan insulted Trump, and that is a major no-no.
26
Maybe Puerto Rican casualties only count as fractions of human beings, like it was back in the day. Where is that island in relation to the Mason/Dixon line?
18
Ask Trump if he cares.
Absolutely shameful that the supposedly richest and most powerful nation on the face of the earth can’t handle disasters better than this.
Trump tossing paper towels to the crowd is an iconic image of our relief efforts.
23
The people of Puerto Rico are American citizens with all the rights of other Americans to vote in all U.S. elections when they live on the mainland. Hopefully, they will remember President Trump's and Republican Congressional leaders' almost total indifference to them and their families still in Puerto Rico when they vote in the forthcoming 2018 and 2020 elections. These voters can make a big difference in these forthcoming elections.
12
You're assuming that the elections will be held and that these people will be allowed to vote.
2
Considering the already shaky infrastructure and the already week financial picture to think that after being hit directly by a Cat 4 hurricane that the death toll was so low is just laughable. It was impossible for any reporting on the situations across the island to be assessed and it seems even in this age of helicopters and drones no real attempt was made to make an accurate assessment. Ridiculous and disgusting.
8
The GOP and Trump don't give a darn about Puerto Rico. They have no electoral votes and their relatives and friends on the Mainland don't vote like the Florida Cubans do.
6
Hurricanes, Fires , Floods And Trump
All in the Same Year.
Recipe for a Great Economy
ENOUGH ! Already. ENOUGH!
3
Why is it so hard for our federal government to tell us the truth?
6
Trump being the decent and honorable man that he is, I am sure that his administration did not put pressure on Puerto Rican officials to understate the death toll in order to make the President look good.
3
Approaching Katrina like death toll. Then again, unmitigated disaster is the only result whenever and wherever Trump (and the people he really knows how to pick) become involved. If there are any exceptions to this rule, they certainly don't spring to mind.
It's a pity, so high death toll. I think that Puerto Rico only could resuscitate and became a great land if it should decide to make part of Spain, as its 18 Autonomous Region, a system that permits maximum of autonomy and competences for the self-government. And the real solidarity from the rest of the country. The independence from Spain was a great mistake. Today Puerto rico, as much of the american countries, can remedy the old mistake. The mother fatherland waits. Imagine that the cuban people could use the euro currency, instead of starve or dead of boredom. Kind regards.
4
And this is surprising to whom exactly? It was reported right after the hurricane that the entire population of patients at a certain emergency room had passed away. The San Juan mayor told of her desperation of not being able to get to people in acute danger. We are living through a part of history that will stain the reputation of the United States forever. Just like the Japanese internment, except we do not even have a World war to blame this time.
6
It’s very sad that the president saw fit to toss paper towels to needy American citizens in dire straits instead of a needed lifeline to them to help rebuild their island, infrastructure and lives. After Maria, the once beautiful island of Puerto Rico, rich with nature’s bounty that gave the island its name will not recover, certainly not in the lifetimes of the people who fled from the hurricane’s aftermath. A plague of death and disillusionment has enveloped Puerto Rico and the president’s cavalier and indifferent attitude to their suffering is beneath his office, if not beneath him personally. If the president truly wants to make America great again, he should start with the American citizens who need all the help they can get.
12
Seems like very little is accounted for in Puerto Rico. Sounds like humans are finally realizing these islands are done for and we can expect millions headin' for the hills.
2
How can all of these illnesses and deaths be true? tRump gave himself a 10 for his response to the disaster. This is a perfect example of fake news because Trump said so. What a mess we're in.
4
The Puerto Rico government and the Federal Government are both to blame for the high death rate. Trump is a mess, but so is the Puerto Rico government.
3
After looking at the damage caused by the one-two punch Puerto Rico received as a result of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and the slow trickle-down assistance it almost begrudgingly received from the U.S. in the aftermath -- it's difficult, no...impossible to believe an 'Official toll' of only 62 deaths.
It's seriously ime for a recount.
3
The Puerto Rico situation is a mess.
The leaders of Puerto Rico are inept at best.
Corrupt financing of government projects.
Wall Street has gotten burned and not likely to lend them more money or invest in infrastructure.
Our President does not seem willing to help them out beyond basic assistance.
The only bright spot is the work of Chef Jose Andres who fed hundreds of thousands of starving folks. He received some money from FEMA and donations from generous Americans.
If I was a citizen of Puerto Rico, I would be getting prepared for the next hurricane and I would elect leaders that are 'honest' and capable of digging the country out of this whole. They need to be 'trusted' by our government or little help will be forthcoming.
6
Given that state agencies in Puerto Rico were not prepared either because of lack of funds or incompetency does not deter the responsibility of our President to ensure the safety of all Americans. We can blame their government later. These Americans need assistance now. An incompetent and "don't care" administration has led to the deaths of these Americans. And it seems we don't care either since there are no protests or investigations into the slow FEMA response. This is what happens when we have been fighting the Pretend King Trump's administration and feel so overwhelmed we have forgotten these Americans. This is exactly why we need to impeach the Pretend King Trump as soon as possible otherwise Americans loosing their homes from damaging fires in CA will be added to the casualty list of this incompetent administration.
1
Maybe the folks in Puerto Rico just needed a few more paper towel rolls to be tossed there way to prevent these deaths. 45 will never admit any responsibility for anything and his supporters are unwittingly complicit.
1
"16 deaths, certified!" - Donald Trump
The President paid a quick visit to a little-damaged area of the PR capital, declared victory, gave himself an A+ for effort, and left.
Most of his supporters will never know that there might be more to the story.
3
Our economy is booming so what's the excuse for neglecting PR? 1. they can't vote in pres election; 2 they are Hispanic; 3. they have no political clout. This is trumps america. Oh, and probably one more: the San Juan mayor is a women, AND who dared to condemn trump administration response and neglect.
2
How on earth would it benefit PR to not record these numbers accurately? I don't get it. Pretty shady and don't try to pin this on Trump.
5
And what is the republican controlled federal government doing. little to nothing. Here in Florida this is regular news as thousands of PRs are moving here every day because the situation in PR is untenable. In my own office, three staff members have moved family here to this area. And one of the first things they are doing is registering to vote, as they are disgusted with being treated like second class citizens.
1
I honestly doubt if it matters to the deceased if theirs was official or not, only to the living does it which I find rather ironic.
Kind of undermines trump's claim that his administration was doing great there, doesn't it? Bigly sadly, the numbers may be shocking but the overall reality is what we suspected, in spite of WH's lies.
Puerto Rico is still in the response period. More than one million people are without electricity at their homes. Any talk of "recovery" is misleading.
1
The people of Puerto Rico should be offered statehood. Then they will have a chance of securing equal representation, equal power, and equal treatment as their fellow citizens have. Justice requires it.
1
Puerto Rico was not able to maintain its energy facilities, prepare them to withstand hurricanes, or upgrade to new sources of energy (such as wind and solar) because many Puerto Ricans routinely did not pay their energy bills.
Due to an historic agreement, Puerto Rican municipalities are not charged for some of the electricity they use. They are expected to pay for what they use above this amount. Many do not paid anything. The municipalities build and charge for the use of energy-intensive structures, such as an ice skating rink, a night-lit baseball park, and air-conditioned buildings. Instead of using some of their income to pay their electric bills, they use the money to keep taxes low.
Up to a third of Puerto Rican economic activity is not reported. Next to NYC, Puerto Rico has the largest network of public housing. 36% of public housing residents report no income so the federal government gives them money to pay their electric bills. Many keep the cash for themselves.
Consequently, the electric company did not have the money to maintain or fix its system. Puerto Ricans have been dying because too many of them and their municipalities did not pay their bills. While we need to help Puerto Ricans, they need to start reporting their incomes and paying their bills.
8
This is so tragic and so unnecessary I sometimes wonder if God is sending all these disasters in one year because Americans elected Trump.
5
There is no god guess why...
While POTUS-SC "focuses" on the capitol of another country in far flung Jerusalem, we continue to relegate the Americans in PR to a second class status that is not the Apartheid of Israel, but facing disease and death and needs substantial rebuilding and restructuring. We need to embrace our own troubles and issues and stop the nonsense abroad just because it was a political promise to Adelson and the Evangelicals.
5
Obviously they were only counting the folks in Puerto Rico who voted for Trump.
3
But, but how so?
Our Dear Leader went there, was there for some hours, and he tossed paper towels to the natives. And he did it all by himself, without using one of those T-Shirt shooting contraptions. It was real hard work on that hard-to-pronounce island without electricity and with all those sweaty brown bodies, you see. And our Dear Leader plays golf several times a week, just to keep himself in shape for such paper towel and sandwich tossing.
And he gave himself a "Ten" for the effort. So, what is the problem here? A thousand unreported deaths? Can we do another paper towel tossing trips over a sunny weekend on that island to take care of it? After all, it will be freezing in the northeast next week anyway. So lets do it.
My soul cries for what we have done to ourselves.
20
New Orleans and Puerto Rico - Florida and Texas. Lesson learned; get yourself to a Republican control area if a natural disaster is going to hit. Democrat controlled places suffer significantly higher death rates.
8
This is a national disgrace. No other administration would have handled this monumental emergency with such total disregard for the people of Puerto Rico. All that can be surmised by the lack of effort to help these people in their time of need is that racism has reared its ugly head. We are only as good as our weakest citizens and Puerto Ricans are American citizens. This situation is abhorrent and unconscionable.
15
"This is nothing like New Orleans - which was a real disaster where thousands died."
Heckuva job there, Donnie!
57
Gross incompetence. This is Trump's Katrina. I hope when they do get the final death tally it will be front page news in every newspaper. It's disgusting what happened and every American needs to hear about it, not just NYT readers.
60
Despicable WH leadership.
14
You can tell how much Trumpets care about this by the daily attention expressed by DT and FIX News.....ZERO
20
This matters? I thought the only thing that matters is that Franken made stupid jokes and must be destroyed forever for it.
21
“I would give myself a 10,” Trump said Thursday as he sat next to Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello, because “we have provided so much, so fast.” Just think how much worse things would have been had there been a paper towel shortage.
83
Excellent observation... I hope "Cheeto von Tweeto" doesn't plan on tossing out paper towels to the California fire victims... just would add fuel to the flames.
1
Well, it certainly looks like the Obama administration didn't do much to help prepare PR for the very real likelihood of a major hurricane devastating the island. Eight years -- and exactly what did the Obama admin do to ensure that PR was prepared for a major hurricane?
And while some of the comments here seem to imply that Trump is covering up the number of deaths, it appears to be the method used by Puerto Rico to tabulate hurricane related deaths.
I also think that 2 years of baseline data is probably insufficient. As the attached wikipedia article shows, the death rate in Puerto Rico has risen in recent years(after falling). Also note that before the hurricane hit the death rate in early sept 2017 was higher than the prior 2 years, although obviously there is a much bigger spike in the death rate in after sept 20.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Puerto_Rico
And while another commenter mentioned this, you can't compare death rates from hurricanes unless you use the same methodology for calculating deaths.
It would be amazing if Puerto Rico had fewer than 100 deaths related to the hurricane given the magnitude of the storm. But if most of the deaths weren't direct (such as drowning) but from already sick individuals suddenly not being able to obtain needed meds, this is clearly a governmental failure -- not a Trump failure -- but a failure based on long standing lack of preparedness by PR and US governments.
12
What nonsense.
How do you suggest an island prepare for a category 5 hurricane? And, where are the funds for doing this going to come from? A Republican Congress that pinched pennies when Obama was President?
26
Thank you for this. You are so right. And the commentator is so out of touch with reality. I live in South Florida. So I know a little about category five hurricanes: Andrew! So what would President Obama have done to prepare Puerto Rico for a category five hurricane?
1
so you think the response was adequate? just wondered. Maybe it's the fault of "the president of Puerto Rico".
1
We can all be outraged , but nothing will change until the island is granted statehood with full recognition and especially voting rights.
Otherwise, there will be more storms, more crushing debt imposed in the aftermath, and more wealthy conglomerates\interests swooping in to buy up everything for pennies on the dollar.
The death toll will not hinder that one way or the other.
34
No, grant PR their independence. Let them be the driver of their own destiny. There is no reason they should continue to begrudgingly be dependent on the largess of a former colonial power. Isn't that what self-determination, empowerment and all the other uplifting mantras of progressivism are all about?
3
Don't know if that would solve everything, but yes, it's a good question: why do we still have what is basically a colony?
3
The US does not Grant Statehood. You have to Vote for and request it. To date - Puerto Ricans have not mustered the votes. Maybe you should stop trying to decide people lives for them.
6
This is just like Iraq war or Panama invasion where the actual civilian deaths were an order of magnitude larger than the official count. It would be interesting to compare it with Houston which had about the same official toll. I'm willing to bet the discrepancy there was much less.
41
TO PASS SCIENTIFIC MUSTER, Statistics must be both meet criteria of validity and reliability. Demographic statistics rely upon operational communication grids. To date only about 70% of Puerto Rico's communication grid is operational. Statistical validity and reliability cannot be obtained by extrapolating, or extending the pattern mathematically, based on only 70% of the data available. Meaning that it will be a long time before accurate statistics will be available for the number of deaths and injuries after the hurricane left the Island devastated.
4
Since the deaths being reported are an expression of positive existentialism, then we would expect these numbers to likely grow as the grid reaches 100%?
1
We can all be outraged , but nothing will change until the island is granted statehood with full recognition and especially voting rights.
Otherwise, there will be more storms, more crushing debt imposed in the aftermath, and more wealthy conglomerates\interests swooping in to buy up everything for pennies on the dollar.
The doll toll will not hinder that one way or the other.
3
Puerto Rico seems to have the same government issues as DC, every hand in the cash drawer but none working for the people. Instead of seeking statehood which doesn't seem to be working well, maybe PR needs to seek a big corporate entity and seek to be incorporated as a subsidiary. It's a beautiful country with huge travel potential but needs solid infrastructure and singular focus on growth.
6
Sell it to Russia. The French sold America La Louisiane.
"It's a beautiful country", um, yeah the United States of America (or was), but Puerto Rico is a commonwealth and an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is not a "country".
Reminds of the the congressman that said the other day that we were spending too much time investigating the Trump administration and not the Clinton administration. Or folks that are calling for Clinton's impeachment.
This the best of true investigative reporting! Well done, though a sad tale.
14
The big mystery is "Why are hurricane deaths being systematically under-counted?". Obviously the process for determining hurricane deaths is grossly under-counting these deaths. But why is this process in use?
Who stood to benefit? Or is it a case of determination to keep a "scientific process" that may have a set of well defined steps--but is utterly wrong by any objective method of how the information is used, or what is actually being measured?
1
Despicable. From the beginning this was handled in the poorest way possible, almost as if it was on purpose. And we all know why, and who is responsible and the person's last name starts with a "T". And days go by and still he sits and bloviates and makes people of common sense insane. And his supporters care only about themselves. A new low.
22
It's the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that keeps the statistics. The President has nothing to do with it
2
They're only Democrats and rather on the brown side at that.
13
...and they speak with an accent, and for many, English is not their first language.
Absolutely disgusting the way these American citizens have been treated.
I wonder what the President's response would have been had this hurricane devastated Mar-a-Lago instead of Manati
3
They don't have the right to vote in Presidential elections so Trump doesn't care what happens to them. Hopefully, this will come back and bite him when all the Puerto Ricans that have moved to Florida and will now be able to vote, turns the state blue.
4
I spoke with a few physicians who practice in Puerto Rico and they definitely confirmed that the number of deaths was significantly higher. It is surprising that three of them came up with the same number of 1000. Many people with chronic medical conditions died because of lack of care. Many patients who needed supplemental oxygen for various medical problems did not receive any and died as a result. It is shocking that we allowed this to happen. Disaster management is a skill that comes from lessons learnt from previous disasters and a dedicated core group of people. It is not clear if they had such people to help.
192
I'm of the sincere belief that Puerto Rico, Texas, and lots of other places affected by disasters would have been helped immensely had we still had Craig Fugate as FEMA director. Mr Fugate is exactly the kind of dedicated public servant we should have running FEMA: He started as an EMT, worked his way up through the ranks, ran disaster relief for Florida under Jeb Bush, and then ran FEMA for the entirety of the Obama administration. Under his leadership, FEMA handled numerous disasters with minimal loss of life, most notably Hurricane Sandy.
All Donald would have needed to do is keep this obviously competent and by all appearances rather apolitical person in his post.
3
@David
One man, no matter how could, could have made up for the decades of neglect and incompetence that Puerto Rico's leaders and civil servants did in managing the island critical infrastructure. The fault of all this rest squarely on the Territory of Puerto Rico, NOT the federal government.
3
PR is a poor island, largely because of the local conditions and politicians, who traded patronage for votes. Totally corrupt, and not surprising. Anyone with marketable skills has left for Orlando because the future is even more bleak than before the storm. Those who died where very high risk before the storm and the power and transportation infrastructure was marginal, so there is no surprise here.
3
My father-in-law in PR is in critical condition today because of the poor preparation for this disaster. He survived the hurricane, but not having proper meds for two months, breathing generator fumes, no water, and the high stress will be his downfall.
All predicatable.
24
The death toll speaks to racial prejudice, and as well as bias to the dubious Trump administration.
The island had no electrical power for weeks. Why did not the Army Corps of Engineers go there, and fix things pronto? Instead there was a covert contract with some boondoggle outfit out of remote Montana - where the Secretary of the Interior is from.
America has done better. Puerto Rican Americans deserve better.
213
I would urge all PR residents to flock FL and TX and change the landscape of which party is in control. Once you establish yourself, make sure your native land is taken care of. It is a long term plan. Unless this is done, the history is going to repeat itself.
Nonsense.
There is only one multicolored multiethnic multi-faith multinational origin biological DNA genetic evolutionary fit human race species that began in Africa 300,000+ years ago. Neither color nor ethnicity nor faith nor national origin are racial markers. Color in human beings is all about Vitamin D production and protecting genes against damaging mutations from varying levels of solar radiation in populations isolated by latitude and altitude.
Puerto Ricans can be as black as Viola Davis or as white as Melania Trump or as brown as Michelle Obama. While Puerto Ricans are American citizens, Puerto Rico is not a separate and equal sovereign united states. And Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans do not have an effective domestic American lobby using finance, propaganda and espionage to represent their interests and values. Puerto Ricans are Americans. Israelis are not.
1
This is very troubling. "To the victor go the spoils," one of those aphorisms related to wars. Puerto Rico became a territory as a result of Teddy Roosevelt winning that short Spanish-American war. I don't think Puerto Rico has ever been really supported by any of the administrations since then. But what has happened under Trump's is beyond "the horror! the horror!" (Heart of Darkness) Trump made a mockery of those people--those citizens of this country--when he went there and tossed paper towels--paper towels!!--out at them, the citizens of this country who'd lost their homes, their livelihoods, and so many as we now know their lives as a result of Maria. Those of us who live in one of the fifty states should be so embarrassed by the actions of the megalomanic in the White House.
21
Puerto Rico became a territory as a result of Teddy Roosevelt winning that short Spanish-American war
=================
Roosevelt didn't win the war. He was just a Lieutenant Colonel in the cavalry
1
President McKinley won the Spanish-American War.
1
I wonder how many of the unreported death could be attributable to failures to get medical supplies, drugs, power and water to those in tenuous health. If even one, trump should be ashamed of giving himself a 10 out of 10 for his response to what is an ongoing catastrophe about which he seems to have forgotten entirely.
11
He should be impeached for this alone. Gross incompetance.
Paul Anziano, PhD
110
Also, political malfeasance being a reason for impeachment.
2
The President cannot be impeached for incompetence. If he could, George W. Bush would never have finished his first term.
republicans - the party of avarice and abject failure.
11
I guess the papertowels trump was tossing out didn't quite get the job done.
182
Wow!
Our so-called president disrespects our fellow Americans, the Puerto Ricans, in death as well as life. Shameful
81
If only they had more paper towels, millions of lives could have been saved.
84
Ai bendito, mi pobre gente! That is correct, if my island was Florida or Texas this wouldn't have happened. Puerto Rico has always been treated as an unwanted step-child except when it was time to fight in Korea (remember the 65th), Vietnam and the gulf wars. Or from the 30's through the 50's how they relocated so many to New York to work the factories and even outlawing the Puerto Rican flag. Our dead is not an issue for the United States of America and not even an issue for the government of Puerto Rico hence these outrageous numerical lies. For those that want statehood for Puerto Rico, open your eyes, there will never be 51 states.
63
But if Florida and texas where island it would have there.
2
Your island is not a state, you've voted many times to not become a state.
Elections have consequences.
4
More fraud from the biggest fraudster in history.
48
The statistics are kept by the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
3
This is prooobably a bad time for Democrats to chuck their own because of sexual harassment, when every vote is needed to impeach a White House occupant who not only has harassed but raped; neglected his fellow citizens who are dying from the (still!) lingering effects of hurricanes and fossil-burner climate attacks; and supports warmongering, hate incitement-via-internet, and ethnic cleansing here and abroad, with full GOP support.
Not even one GOPer in Congress or the White House seems to have paid in jailtime for last year's November Theft. Fix that—fast.
35
This tragedy is a reflection of the Puerto Rican agencies and government.
Scientists have been warning for years that major disasters would occur. Yet, the public, state agencies, local & state government did nothing!
On many occasions, it was reported that sufficient supplies were in port and in the ports storage, yet they didn't have drivers coming in to make deliveries.
The lesson is clear, we can not make the mistake of thinking somebody else will come and save us!
47
couldn't the same thing be said about Houston?
4
There's nothing that makes people like you feel as good as blaming the victims, is there? So when the next tornado levels a trailer park in Kansas we should blame those people for not having enough money to buy a brick fortress.
Those same scientists, by the way, have been warning that climate change will only make those storms worse. Yet we have a president and an entire political party of deniers out there who are doing nothing but making that even more likely.
The lesson is clear--we're in this together. We should do our part, of course, but good leadership and an intelligent, well-informed population can save most everybody.
18
The drivers weren't coming in because there were no passable roads in most of PR. They weren't exactly capable of single handedly fixing them themselves. Or repairing the electrical infrastructure for the same reason. So what is your point?
5
The statistics describing the catastrophe that befell Puerto Rico is being measured not by what is but by what some people want it to be.
Sound familiar? It should because this is how the Trump administration has been distorting the facts and just outright lying about so many things. This also typifies authoritarian regimes like Russia and that's not a coincidence.
60
US of A has a lot of second class citizens, and a third class president. Amazing.
114
You rank him as third class? Please! Go much, much lower.
4
If there were 10 classes, he'd be an 11.
1
You flatter him. Fifth class? Tenth class? Last class? Classless? A disgusting subhuman, no matter what.
1
Hmmm....I guess the so-called "Deep State" that the GOP keeps talking about just exists whenever its convenient, because clearly, there is no government conspiracy in evidence to serve any of us average Americans (and that includes PR)!
17
Let’s hope the casualty number , destruction , cost of reconstruction in all these natural disasters caused by climate change , from California to the Virgin Islands , encompassing the entire United States , will somehow open the eyes of the climate change deniers , unless their vision is totally obscured by fake news.
The young generations will pay a stiff price for these deniers ignorance and lack of common sense .
11
Trump, it seems, doesn't care about younger and future generations
except his own.
2
"Paper Towels Save Lives"
TRUMP 2017
118
Ok. Sure. After any catastrophic event of that nature there is going to be more fatalities. Especially places that are not first world, like PR. Face it, from an infrastructure perspective PR is far below any US State.
I'm sure the real reason behind this report, and I knew it was coming based on previous NYT articles, is to bash the Trump Administration.
As usual, though, the NYT misses the real news story. We are so dependent on electricity that any sustained loss will certainly result in an increase in death rates. No power = no HVAC, significant drop in medicines due to lack or refrigeration, no life support systems like oxygen, the list goes on. That is the real story.
8
Trump's response to the crisis in Puerto Rico has been eminently bashable. He deserves all the opprobrium he gets. Paper towels? Really?
(BTW one of those deaths was my brother-in-law.)
5
How long before Trump gives himself another A+?
43
@Chicago Guy: As soon as someone alerts him to the conditions in California.
1
White Republican America didn't care when Bush's incompetence led to the deaths after Katrina.
And White, Republican, English-speaking America certainly cares even less about the deaths of people in Hispanic, Spanish-speaking America.
Shoot (metaphorically speaking). Most of White Republican America cares more about its pro sport teams (which is why protests by a handful of courageous athletes bother them so much) than it cares about young American soldiers risking their lives in Afghanistan or Niger, or about aging American veterans who now live on our streets.
It's a Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump world out there.
16
Failure by Trump admin to deal equitably with natural disaster. #NotMyPresident
52
Yet another fact President Trump and his Vichy, complicit enablers -- looking at you, Pence, McConnell, Ryan, Grassley, Hatch, McCain, Meadows and all the laughably-named Freedom Caucus and the rest of you feckless, deplorable Republicans -- will lie about.
175
This would never have been allowed to happen in Texas or Florida.
128
Diane- how true. Just last week the misses trump and pence were visiting Texas. Puerto Rico doesn't even exist for these cretins!
47
Really?
Hurricane Katrina comes to mind!
2
Texas and Florida did not bankrupt themselves.
6
This may indeed be a better way to think about deaths from catastrophic events. However, if we are going to compare death rates across events, it would be important to use the same methodology for each event. I'm not sure how valid it is to compare death rates across catastrophic events, since there are so many variables that can't be accounted to. But since Trump did imply this comparison in an attempt to show competency of his administration, the claim is certainly worth reviewing by the Times. But that review should compare like methodologies. I'd be curious to see this same methodology applied to Katrina or Harvey.
14
"If all those additional deaths were to be counted as related to the hurricane, it would make Maria the sixth deadliest hurricane since 1851."
How would we know? Are we looking at the death tolls for every other hurricane in the same way as is being done here? Or would this be comparing apples to oranges?
6
does a comparison matter? dead is dead, 1000 more dead then if no hurricane
any fool could see that the number was rigged to be low for political reasons
you can't wipe out a whole island like that and think only 62 people would die
196
Mel, an accurate comparison is very important if you want to make a claim about how this storm compares with others. I don't see how, absent true adjudication, any such claim could be made anyway.
As a doctor, I will say that if the average death toll year over year was X and the graph is this year x plus the red line...the evidence is certain that the effect of the storm are the cause!
just like Katrina
126
Is "politically-motivated manslaughter" a charge that can be brought? Not all 1052 cases, but at least 400? Maybe 700?
106