Remember Puerto Rico

The monthslong uncertainty surrounding the death toll from Hurricane Maria highlights the confounding limitations of using fatalities to gauge the true impact of a disaster.

Even if the death count in Puerto Rico had in fact stood at 64, the early estimate put out by the Puerto Rican government, that number would say nothing about the prolonged suffering of the hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens who were left without electricity for months after the hurricane. Or about those who struggled to access medical care and clean water long after the storm subsided.

Still, many people were rightfully stunned by survey results published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine that found the Sept. 20 storm’s death toll could be 70 times the official estimate.

A lower death toll would not have excused the U.S. government’s slow response to the disaster, which engulfed the U.S. territory that is home to 3.4 million Americans.

Hurricane season is descending once again on the Caribbean, while Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover. Thousands on the island remain without power, a testament to Maria’s long-lasting effects and the island’s poverty.

Members of Congress must focus on directing aid to Puerto Rico to prepare it for another potentially damaging season of storms. Congress should also hold hearings on the adequacy of the federal response and whether more could have been done to prevent unnecessary deaths.

Whether Hurricane Maria killed a few dozen Americans or 4,600 after it slammed into Puerto Rico last year, the U.S. government’s inefficient response should go down in history as shameful episode that must not be repeated.

The Seattle Times