Agency sues government to obtain death data

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico’s Institute of Statistics announced Friday it sued the U.S. territory’s health department and demographic registry to obtain data on the number of deaths following Hurricane Maria as a growing number of critics accuse the government of lacking transparency.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday, the same day Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello told CNN there would be “hell to pay” if officials don’t release mortality data. Puerto Rico’s Health Department released some information Friday, saying an additional 1,397 overall deaths were reported from September to December in 2017, compared with the same period the previous year. However, officials did not provide causes of death for any of the 11,459 total people deceased during the period.

Many believe the official toll of 64 deaths is a severe undercount, and anger is building across the island as the families of victims seek answers.

“We demand that they tell us everything,” said Lucy Landro, who lives on the island of Vieques off Puerto Rico’s east coast and lost her elderly uncle after the hurricane hit. “People should know the reality that all towns are facing. We in Vieques aren’t the only ones who are suffering.”

The institute’s director, Mario Marazzi-Santiago, told The Associated Press that the information requested should be public and is urgently needed so Puerto Rico’s government can help prevent deaths in the event of another storm, noting that the Atlantic hurricane season began Friday.