Puerto Rico concedes Hurricane Maria killed more than 1,400 people

Puerto Rico has conceded that Hurricane Maria killed more than 1,400 people on the island last year - and not just the 64 in the official death toll.

Puerto Rico concedes Hurricane Maria killed more than 1,400 people

Puerto Rico has conceded that Hurricane Maria killed more than 1,400 people on the island last year - and not just the 64 in the official death toll.

The government acknowledged the higher death toll with no fanfare in a report submitted to US congress this week in which it detailed a 139 billion dollar reconstruction plan for the Caribbean island.

The quiet acknowledgement was first reported by The New York Times.

Puerto Rican officials have admitted that more than 64 people likely died as a result of the powerful storm that knocked out the power grid and caused widespread flooding which made many roads impassable.

A more exact number has been a matter of debate that the government has sought to end by commissioning an academic study, due out in coming weeks.

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, around 1,000 miles off the south-east coast of Florida.

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