Hurricane Maria Killed Nearly 3,000 People in Puerto Rico A new study estimates Hurricane Maria caused 2,975 deaths in Puerto Rico in the six months following the storm. Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rosselló commissioned the independent study back in February. Carlos Santos-Burgoa, lead researcher via statement Since December, the island nation's government's official hurricane death
toll had been at 64. Puerto Rico officials had acknowledged the number was far too low and would be adjusted once the study was completed. Researchers add they counted deaths over the span of six months. This is a much longer period than usual because so many people were without power during that time.