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[Tovarisc]

The morgue at La Concepción hospital in San Germán, Puerto Rico, can only fit three bodies at a time. But in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the refrigeration unit needed space for at least a dozen more.

The morgue became overcrowded, said Luis Torres, an employee at the hospital, located on the southwestern side of the island from San Juan, which has received less attention in the relief effort. The ER did, too. Thankfully, the Puerto Rican Department of Health delivered an extra refrigeration unit that can hold up to 15 bodies.

President Trump has downplayed the scale of the disaster in Puerto Rico, where the official death toll now sits at 45. But hospital employees, funeral directors, and healthcare volunteers in Puerto Rico who spoke to VICE News put the count much higher. They’re not only overwhelmed with bodies — often whose cause of death hasn’t been determined — but officials might not be accounting for deaths indirectly related to Hurricane Maria, like those due to medication shortages.

VICE News called all 65 hospitals in Puerto Rico listed on the U.S. government’s website. At least one hospital had permanently closed, and others’ phone lines had been disconnected. Many had administrative employees unable to show up to work, while others were running on inconsistent flow of water and diesel to power generators. At most hospitals, however, the morgues were filling up beyond capacity, making the death count difficult to track.

“There’s got to be a death toll in the hundreds, and that’s a conservative estimate,” said Jin Packard, a physician who’s traveled to remote villages to treat patients. “People die due to being neglected and due to being inaccessible, but you won’t see that in the official count.”

Because of the lack of power and cell phone service on the island, some hospitals can’t contact medical examiners to identify the bodies before they’re buried. And even if they could, blocked roads and even mudslides have prevented transporting the bodies. Some reports put the death count as high as 500.

https://news.vice.com/story/not-even-hospitals-in-puerto-rico-know-how-many-people-have-died

Article really breaks down why counts are off by big margin, how system usually works etc.

 

[mlclmtckr]

In a few months we will have a very good idea of how many people died (probably thousands) and Fox News, the_donald and Trump's twitter will all be calling it fake news liberal propaganda.

 

[geomon]

We'll never know the real count because:

“We’ve been told people have buried their family members because they’re in places that have yet to be reached.”

and

“People die due to being neglected and due to being inaccessible, but you won’t see that in the official count.”

 

[Tovarisc]

Jeremy Konyndyk, working for @cgdev & @Georgetownsfs. Former US Foreign Disaster Assistance chief (@theOFDA) under Obama.

https://twitter.com/JeremyKonyndyk/status/918997266744201222

 

[kess]

Just a reminder that FEMA has pulled electricity and water reports in Puerto Rico from public scrutiny.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...rto-rico-from-website/?utm_term=.4a2d9c2b0a45

Trump has also nominated the CEO of a private weather bureau to the Weather Service, who has pushed for limits on the public's access to free knowledge about the weather.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/12/trump-noaa-chief-accuweather-barry-myers-243735

 

[The Technomancer]

This is a nightmare

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Charge Trump with one count of negligent homicide for everyone who has died in Puerto Rico.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

Unfortunately, it seems like mainland Americans care even less than Trump does.

Also, Brock Long can go fuck himself. I thought he would be a dignified person since he's been a civil servant for 28 years and not one of the usual political appointees you see at other departments. But every interview he's given sounds like political garbage and spinning the situation to not lose his job. It seems like we've come to the point where no one with a shred of decency or morality is willing to work in the government and we get opportunistic scum like this.

 

[Chumly]

Governor seems in no hurry to get out accurate numbers either.