Hurricane Maria kills 4,600 in Puerto Rico
San Juan, May 30: Hurricane Maria killed more than 4,600 people in Puerto Rico, 70 times the official death toll of 64, the media reported on Wednesday.
A Harvard University study estimated that a third of deaths after September's hurricane were due to interruptions in medical care caused by power cuts and broken road links, reports the BBC.
The Harvard researchers said interviews conducted in Puerto Rico suggested a 60 per cent increase in mortality in the three months after the storm.
They contacted more than 3,000 randomly selected households between January and March in 2018 and asked about displacement, infrastructure loss, and causes of death.
The experts said that an accurate count was complicated by the widespread devastation wreaked by the storm.
The Puerto Rico government said it "always expected the number to be higher than what was previously reported".
Carlos Mercader from Puerto Rico's Federal Affairs Administration said he welcomed the Harvard survey. "The magnitude of this tragic disaster caused by Hurricane Maria resulted in many fatalities," he said.
He added that the island's authorities had also commissioned George Washington University to study the number of deaths and these findings would be released soon, reports the BBC.
"Both studies will help us better prepare for future natural disasters and prevent lives from being lost," he said.
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Virat Kohli fined 20 per cent match fees, one demerit point for his altercation with Sam Konstas
Melbourne, Dec 26: India superstar Virat Kohli was on Thursday fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point by the ICC following his on-field altercation with Australia debutant Sam Konstas on the opening day of the fourth Test here.
The incident happened in the 10th over when Kohli and the 19-year-old Konstas bumped their shoulders and also exchanged a few words in the first session’s play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here.
"Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct relates to: "inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator during an International Match"," the ICC said on its website.
"No formal hearing was needed as Kohli accepted the sanctions propsed by Match Referee Andy Pycroft. On-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough, third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and fourth umpire Shawn Craig levelled the charge," it added.
While moving across the pitch after the completion of the over, both the players bumped their shoulders and exchanged a few words before Australia opener Usman Khawaja and on-field umpires Gough and Wilson intervened.
Konstas later played down the incident after the end of the play, saying "Virat Kohli accidentally bumped into me, that's cricket and can happen with tension."
"Have a look where Virat walks. Virat's walked one whole pitch over to his right and instigated that confrontation. No doubt in my mind whatsoever."
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 26, 2024
- Ricky Ponting #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/zm4rjG4X9A
Kohli and Konstas come together and make contact đź‘€#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/adb09clEqd
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 26, 2024
