Puerto Rican officials have quietly acknowledged that last year's devastating Hurricane Maria killed more than 1,400 people, far more than the official death toll of 64 that was previously reported.
The figure was included in a draft report to Congress that outlined the government's reconstruction plan for the US territory.
In the report, Puerto Rico's government said there were 1,427 more deaths from September to December 2017 than the average for the same time period over the previous four years. The figure was also included in a report, dated July 9, which was recently published online, according to The New York Times, which was first to report that officials had acknowledged the new estimate.
Pedro Cerame, a spokesman for the Puerto Rican government, told the newspaper that the territory's officials "definitely acknowledge this is a realistic estimate".
The report to Congress said the additional deaths resulted from the effects of a storm that led to "cascading failures" in infrastructure across the island of 3.3 million people.
In the days and weeks after the storm, which hit on September 20, the territory experienced an island-wide electricity outage, as well as blocked roads due to downed power lines and other debris, which made it difficult to move around and stretched emergency services beyond their capabilities.
"The hurricanes' devastating effects on people's health and safety cannot be overstated," the government said.
A second hurricane hit two weeks later, further complicating efforts to help those most affected.
While the official death toll stood at 64, some officials have publicly said that far more people died due to the indirect effects of the powerful storm. A study published by US-based The New England Journal of Medicine in May suggested that more than 4,600 people were directly or indirectly killed by Hurricane Maria.
Updated statistics, including the 1,427 count, were released in June, but the number had not been publicly acknowledged by officials. According to the New York Times, the government said it would wait to update its official tally until after it received a report it commissioned from George Washington University, which is due in the coming weeks.
