Death tolls often rise weeks after storm hits

Source(s): ABC News

By Julie Watson and Seth Borenstein

[...]

And while the change in the number of dead from Hurricane Maria is perhaps the most dramatic — rising from 64 to a 2,975 after the Puerto Rican governor commissioned university researchers to review the count — it's common for death tolls in natural disasters to escalate weeks and months later because of deaths indirectly caused by a storm.

Those can include things like infections from contaminated water, electrocutions from downed power lines and failure to receive dialysis because of power outages. Deaths directly linked to a disaster include drownings from a storm surge or being crushed in a wind-toppled building.

[...]

Unlike tornados that destroy a relatively small area, hurricanes pose challenges in getting a count quickly because of the vast regions that the storms affect, according to disaster experts.

Flooding can mean places are under water for weeks, hiding the dead. Some people may be swept miles away from their homes. People may not be reported missing because friends and neighbors believe they evacuated and decided not to return.

[...]

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