WASHINGTON – Conservative Republicans are targeting the iconic Endangered Species Act for a major makeover, arguing that the decades-old law is a failure.

Their primary piece of evidence: Of the 2,493 species listed as threatened or endangered, only 54 have recovered enough to be removed from the list – a delisting success rate of less than 3 percent.

“As a doctor, if I admit 100 patients to the hospital and only three recover enough under my treatment to be discharged, Governor, I would deserve to lose my medical license with numbers like that,” said Sen. John Barrasso, of Wyoming, at a recent hearing on proposed reform legislation he drafted. The Republican lawmaker is a doctor.

Democrats and environmental groups look at the law, passed in 1973 under a GOP president, and see a different picture.

“They define success as delisting,” said Derek Goldman, with the Endangered Species Coalition that includes more than 400 national, state and local environmental and conservation groups. Instead, he said, the key statistic is 99 – the percentage of species listed under the law that have been saved from extinction.

Perhaps the most well-known example of the law’s success is the bald eagle. When it was listed as endangered in 1967 under a law that predated the ESA, the count of bald eagles  had fallen to fewer than 500. It had rebounded enough to be delisted in 2007, and now there are more than 70,000 bald eagles in North America, according to Defenders of Wildlife.

For every soaring tale of bald eagle success, advocates for overhaulingthe law point to what they consider to be examples of environmental concerns trumping human needs,   such as the 3- to 4-inch-long delta smelt, which lives only in the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Farmers, lawmakers and even President Donald Trump have criticized diversion of water that could have gone to farmers in an attempt to save the smelt from extinction.

Efforts to protect species go back decades

Attempts by the federal government to protect endangered species dates to 1900. But it wasn’t until 1967 that the first list of endangered species was published. It included 78 species of animals.

The Endangered Species Act passed by Congress in 1973 at the urging of Republican President Richard Nixon, who said when he signed the bill into law that “nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.”

In addition to setting out and defining the categories of “endangered” and “threatened,” the law also made plants and all invertebrates eligible for protection.

It applied broad “take” prohibitions on endangered species and blocked the federal government from doing anything that would jeopardize a listed species or destroy or modify its “critical habitat.”

Species become listed – or proposed for removal – either by proposals from federal scientists or by petitions from the public.

Congress has passed amendments several times through the years, but the basic framework of the 1973 law has remained untouched.

Changes coming from several sources

That the law has reached a political crossroads was clear in July when within a one-week period:

The House bills, most with catchy one-word acronyms for titles, range from one that would make it easier to delist a protected species to another that would require federal agencies to work more closely with states and a third that would require that data used to make listing decisions be made available to the public.

More than 100 groups have signed on to support the House package of bills including  the American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Petroleum Institute, along with the numerous sportsmen groups from several western states.

“It’s past time for reform,” said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, and the driving force behind conservative efforts to remake the relationship between the federal government and public lands.

Opponents of these changes think Bishop has far more in mind for the ESA than a few tweaks along the margins. They cite a comment he reportedly made in 2016 in which he said the law is so flawed lawmakers may “simply have to start over again” and “repeal it and replace it.”

Trump administration weighs in 

The three regulations from the Trump administration – proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service – make technical changes that proponents say simply clarify language in current regulations. Opponents call them devastating.

So far, more than 6,000 public comments have been filed on the proposed regulations. Sept. 24 marks the deadline for such opinions.

Ya-Wei Li, who is with the Environmental Policy Innovation Center and was formerly with the Defenders of Wildlife, described initial coverage of the regulatory proposals as “disappointing and hyperbolic, nearly devoid of balanced, objective analysis.” Of the 36 proposals he counted in the rules, he believes 19 would have little impact on conservation, six would have positive effects, eight would have a negative result and three would have mixed impact.

Barrasso pushes Senate bill

The Senate legislation authored by Barrasso is based, in part, on the work of Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead. When he was chairman of the Western Governors’ Association, Mead launched an initiative in 2015 that attempted to bring people together on all sides of the issue to fashion revisions to the law.

 

Barrasso’s bill would require greater state involvement in implementing the ESA, allow for voluntary wildlife conservation agreements and establish a system to prioritize listing petitions.

Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, praised Mead’s efforts to craft a bipartisan proposal.

But, he said, “I am not fully convinced that a similar process is possible right now in Washington, D.C.,”  and said that he could not support Barrasso’s legislation.

A major problem with the law, he said, is a lack of the funding needed to deal with all of the work that comes with the petitions seeking to list species as threatened or endangered and to plan for their recovery.

In fact, among the species listed under the ESA that are eligible for recovery plans, nearly one-fourth still do not have final plans, according to a recently published study co-authored by Ya-Wei Li of the Center for Conservation Innovation. One in 10 of the plans is more than 30 years old, the study found.

Timing, popularity of law may delay changes

It’s not clear whether there will be time for Congress to take up the Endangered Species Act reform legislation before the end of the year. And, of course, if the Democrats were to win control of either the House or the Senate or both, the legislation would immediately be dead in the water.

Proponents of leaving the current law alone are also counting on its popularity with the public to protect it from any major overhaul. Polls consistently have found that more than 4 in 5 Americans support the Endangered Species Act.

Advocates for the law also argue that rescuing species is a long-term endeavor and that the recent trend of delistings shows that progress is being made.

Twenty-one species have recovered enough to be removed from the endangered list in just the past five years – about the same number delisted in the previous 35 years.

 

 

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Reaction to last night’s Carabao Cup results, plus transfer gossip – BBC Sport

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Hodeidah, Yemen – Minutes. That’s all Muhammed Yassin had to save his family.

When two low-flying aircraft roared over his neighbourhood in the western city of Hodeidah last month, the 35-year-old knew time was ticking.

Like many Yemenis that day he rushed home, picked up his family, and hastily began packing essentials in order to leave.

More than 120,000 Yemenis had already fled the war-ravaged city since the start of June, most of them heading to the relative safety of the capital, Sanaa, about 170km away.

As laser-guided bombs were being prepared for release, Yassin and his family-of-four boarded a rickety old bus in which they spent the next few hours, peering out of the windows monitoring the skies.

It wasn’t long before the deafening sounds of warplanes fell silent, and the thick trails of white smoke from the multi-million dollar jets became small specks in the horizon.

“As we headed to Sanaa, I was looking forward to putting my family in the safe trust of the United Nations,” he told Al Jazeera.

But when they reached the capital, they were greeted by the sight of charred buildings, crumpled cars, and sewage in the streets – a city reeling from more than three years of air strikes by a Saudi-UAE military alliance.

I tell my children that things will be ok, but it’s hard to convince them when I struggle to even convince myself.

Samar Abdullah, a 38-year-old mother of four

‘Go hungry or go home’

Hundreds of Yemenis, most of them women and children, had been forced to take refuge in schools, he said.

The institutions had long-abandoned teaching and instead became makeshift shelters for the displaced, according to Yassin.

Children were found sleeping on the dusty floors of the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq school where his family, and dozens of others, had been housed.

According to several Yemenis who had also made the journey, costs had skyrocketed. The price of escorting a family to Sanaa had surged to 60,000 riyals ($240).

Once the internally displaced made it to the capital, rent and food cost a staggering 200,000 riyals ($800) a month.

With fruits, vegetables, and cooking gas in short supply, Yassin said the cost of living was just “too high”.

After all his savings dried up, he said he was presented with two options; either stay in the capital and go hungry, or return to Hodeidah and provide for his family.

“I had no option but to return home,” he told Al Jazeera.

“I am worried about facing death [in Hodeidah], but I am also worried about staying in a city without any source of income”.

Guerilla warfare

Once home to around 600,000 people, Hodeidah was a lifeline for millions of Yemenis before the war, and handled about 90 percent of the country imports.

Since it was captured by the Houthis during their 2014 lightening offensive, the Red Sea port city has seen its fortunes shift from Yemen’s agro-industrial capital, to a fierce battleground between the country’s warring factions.

According to aid groups, about 400,000 people still reside in the city, where Houthi fighters have started erecting barricades, digging trenches, and fortifying positions in preparation for guerrilla warfare.

“We have immediate concerns about the safety of people in the path of fighting,” said Suze van Meegen, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Hodeidah.

“We are concerned for children, the elderly and people with disabilities. We are concerned that the city could be closed off for a long period with nothing able to get in or out, and in that case, the biggest concern of all is the possible severing of supply lines into the rest of Yemen.

“That will push millions of people over the cliff of hunger into a full-blown famine.”

‘Can’t afford to leave’

With the Saudi-UAE alliance intensifying their bombing campaign on Houthis-held areas, several residents told Al Jazeera they had grown tired of trying to flee, only to find their next refuge becoming a target as well.

In June, the last month where statistics of air raids were available, the Saudi-UAE alliance carried out at least 258 air raids, nearly a third of which hit non-military sites.

The Yemen Data Project said at least 96 of those were carried out on Hodeidah.

“I can no longer afford to leave,” said Samar Abdullah, a 38-year-old mother of four.

“I tell my children that things will be ok, but it’s hard to convince them when I struggle to even convince myself.”

While some males such as Yassin had left with their wives and children, many said they returned home either to look after their property, find work to fight alongside the Houthis.

“I needed an income to support my family,” said Mahdi Ahmed, a 44-year-old supermarket worker who recently returned to the city.

Too poor to leave again, he says he expects the next few weeks to be “very difficult” unless the air strikes stop.

“I want to leave, but I’m prepared to live under bombardment,” he said.

As long as the Houthis control Hodeidah city, they have an advantage that can bolster their position in any future political process.

Khalil Dewan, a MENA analyst at IHS Markit

‘Graveyard’

The military offensive to take back Hodeidah is the most intense battle so far in a war that has killed more than 10,000 people.

Dubbed Operation Golden Victory, it is carried out by a disparate collective of 20,000 men.

The forces include the National Resistance, a group of fighters loyal to Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Tihama Resistance, a group of fighters loyal to Yemen’s exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and the Giant Brigades, an elite unit backed by the UAE.

Despite each force pushing a different agenda, the National Resistance, led by the former president’s nephew Tariq Mohammed Saleh, has appeared to be the most effective of the fighting units.

Saleh, who analysts say is motivated by the killing of his uncle by the Houthis in December, has led his forces to within 2km of the rebel-held airport.

The offensive marks the first time since the start of the conflict that the alliance has tried to capture such a heavily defended city.

Analysts say the alliance is readying an attack on Hodeidah airport and a major highway linked to Sanaa.

“The Houthis have no plans to retreat,” said Khalil Dewan, a MENA analyst at IHS Markit.

“Their military wing [looks] set to fight the Saudi-UAE alliance to the end.

“As long as the Houthis control Hodeidah city, they have an advantage that can bolster their position in any future political process.”

‘Nowhere safe left to hide’

Should the alliance advance beyond the airport into the poor neighbourhoods of al-Rabsa and Ghalil, Houthi snipers and landmines will lie in wait, he added.

“The alliance absolutely wants to avoid street battles,” said Adam Baron, an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“But it’s hard to see the Houthis – absent a diplomatic breakthrough – simply packing up their bags and moving on.”

Warning the human cost of retaking the city could be catastrophic, aid agencies have been trying to broker a deal saying the assault puts thousands of civilians “at grave risk” and could turn the city into a “graveyard“.

As the Saudis continue to bomb the city and drop leaflets calling for an insurrection, Yassin said the future looked bleak for the thousands of trapped civilians.

“There’s nowhere safe left to hide”.

Manal Qaed reported from Hodeidah. Faisal Edroos reported from Doha.

Image: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images

Just because you and your friends have moved to different corners of the globe doesn’t mean you have to stop watching shows and movies together.

Trying to all hit play at the same moment — as well as juggling between Netflix and Skype, a Facebook chat, Slack, Discord, or any other online chat program — isn’t exactly the most convenient thing in the world. Luckily, there is another way. 

There are several great apps, extensions and websites with the goal of syncing up Netflix streams across the Internet, but they all have their ups and downs. Some are exclusive to Chrome, some have top-notch chat features and some don’t go full screen.

Here are the pros and cons of the best ways to watch Netflix with your friends online.

1. Netflix Party

Netflix Party is a Google Chrome-exclusive extension that only requires one person to install it, making it the easiest of the three to set up. 

Once you install it, choose a movie or show, pause it, and then click the red “NP” button at the top right of your browser to get a link to a shared session. The extension allows you to chat with everyone in the viewing session, but doesn’t allow you to put in a name, so you’ll have to remember your friends’ random symbols.

Netflix Party allows for full-screen viewing and anybody in the session can hit pause, play or scrub through the timeline. The stream adjusts seamlessly.

The biggest downside to Netflix Party is that if you want to watch a few episodes of something or another movie, you’ll have to create a new session every time. Even if Netflix autoplays to the next episode, it will kick everyone out of the session and you’ll have to send out a new link to everyone.

2. Rabbit

Rabbit is one of the most well-rounded stream-sharing services available, partially because it can be used with any browser and partially because you can share all your favorite streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, Crackle and more.

Rabbit requires you to have an account and add the people you want to share a stream with as your friends. It works by having one person in control of the stream, which is shared via a proxy browser right on the Rabbit website. This means you’re essentially sharing the view of a full browser with everyone in your party, and you can go anywhere on the web that you like.

While this is a great feature, it doesn’t give the best stream quality. Even when watching something in a Rabbit room alone, the Netflix stream is pretty pixelated. It also cannot be put in full-screen mode or resized, relegating your viewing area to a small portion of your actual screen. If you’re watching on a laptop or tablet that’s 13 inches or less, good luck seeing much of what’s happening.

The chat options on Rabbit are great, though. The chat window on the right shows everyone’s username and picture, and you can even do voice and video chat.

These services have their upsides and downsides but they are the best Netflix-sharing services available, at least for now. Happy viewing with your friends. 

All products featured were editorially selected. EW.com may receive a percentage of sales for items purchased from these links.

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A magnitude 4.4 earthquake, centered 83 miles northwest of Palm Springs, rattled the Coachella Valley Tuesday night and was quickly followed by a 3.4 magnitude aftershock, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Centered in the Los Angeles County city of LaVerne, the quake and the aftershock were recorded shortly after 7:30 p.m. and were separated by just under a minute.

No word on any injuries or property damage. 

Stronger earthquake earlier this month: 4.4-magnitude quake centered in Aguanga rocks Coachella Valley and coastal communities

Earthquake north of Indio: Feel a quake lately? One that shook near Thousand Palms today was a 3 on Richter scale

Tuesday night’s quake comes just a day after the Coachella Valley was rocked by a mild magnitude 3.0 quake north of Indio and east of Desert Hot Springs, according to the USGS.

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Offseason pickup Jarvis Landry is one of a handful of talented players the Cleveland Browns will be counting on this season to drag the moribund franchise out of its two-decades long pit of misery.

But don’t think the team’s coaching staff is going to give its star players any kind of preferential treatment.

In Tuesday’s episode of Hard Knocks on HBO, Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley — who carries a reputation as a cantankerous sort — went after Landry in a vicious assault of F-bombs after the three-time Pro Bowl receiver cut a route short during the preseason win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The competitive receiver was not about to back down, either.

“Jarvis stopped … Jarvis (expletive) stopped!” Haley yells. 

“What the (expletive) you are talking about?” Landry yells back. “That ball was out of bounds.”

Haley wasn’t done.

“Catch a ball and make a play. Catch a ball and make a play, please,” Haley yells to the receiver who has surpassed 100 catches and 1,000 yards receiving in two of the last three seasons. “That looks like Friday (expletive)!”

MORE NFL:

Haley then screams in the general direction of Browns wide receiver coach Adam Henry.

“What is Jarvis doing? (Expletive) get on his ass!” 

Later in the game, Haley has more pointed words. This time for undrafted rookie free agent receiver Derrick Willies, who is dangling perilously on the roster bubble.

“Yeah, save some energy Willies. I would if I’m trying to get a job,” Haley says.

Then the OC wants to have some more words with Landry, “Where’s Jarvis at?”

Haley finds Landry on the sideline.

“You see Willies half-ass it on the go (route)?” Haley asks. “We gotta get this going, and you gotta be at the forefront. 

“I’m going to keep saying it. I’m not waiting for some, what do you call it, knight in shining armor. You gotta push these guys by doing it over and over and over again. If one of these guys sees one time that you stop or don’t go all-out, then that’s what the (expletive) they do.  I just see it over and over again. One of them has to elevate and help us.”

Seems logical.

Landry nods his head in approval. The two highly competitive men find common ground. 

“I’m sorry for yelling, though,” Haley tells Landry.

Bro hugs follow.

 “Love you,” Landry says. 

Apparently Haley’s beyond “bless ’em” status with Haley.

Other notable moments from the fourth episode of Hard Knocks:

Star of the show: Baker Mayfield —  who’s still rolling with the twos in practice with Tyrod Taylor entrenched as starter — talked about how the game is slowing down for him. But, the real fun came during the rookie talent show when the top overall draft pick faced some jokes for an underwear ad and then impersonated Browns general manager John Dorsey.

More wisdom from Carl Nassib: The Browns defensive end believes aliens are real. Myles Garrett is skeptical. So, let Nassib explain: “The Canadian Prime Minister of Defence, who is equivalent to our Secretary of Defense, it’s just a different name, came out publicly and said that the United States is in contact with three different alien species.”

Feel free to head to Google to learn about the claims of the former Canadian Minister of Defence (spelled that way in Canada).

Quotable: Who’s excited to yell “Nice job you (expletive) kicker!” this season after a successful field goal just like Haley did when Zane Gonzalez hit a 54-yarder vs. the Eagles? 

Are you tired, bro? The Browns have a nap trailer. Viewers finally got a glimpse of this magical place.

Cuts looming: The Browns, like every NFL team, must trim their roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. This will be a major storyline in next week’s episode, as viewers find out the fates of players who have been featured on the show this season. Quarterback Brogan Roback, tight end Devon Cajuste, and defensive ends Nate Orchard and Nassib all are on the roster bubble.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jim Reineking on Twitter @jimreineking.

If you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our new Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.

Denise Shannon has had quite a year since being named 2017 BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show in Liverpool.

But it might have been a very different year – were it not for Graeme Chilvers.

He’s the man who nominated Denise in the first place.

“Denise had been on my radar,” says Graeme, who works as Health & Recreation manager for Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council in Leicestershire.

“We knew her since before 2012. We worked with her about carrying the Olympic torch. She really puts herself out. You can see the difference she makes.

“Everybody has something positive to say about her.”

The ‘lifeblood’ of sport

It was the variety of groups that Denise runs and helps with that impressed Graeme (and ultimately the judges) about her so much – something he’d had a hand in as well.

“I’m a ‘cascade trainer‘ for Walking for Health,” says Graeme, who has himself always been involved in sports coaching. “I trained Denise up to be a walk leader.”

And Graeme is passionate about the importance of sport and fitness for everyone.

“You see the impact, especially with young people and their education,” he says.

“Teachers say young people involved in sport have a better attitude to life. They focus more and work their way through problems and get success.”

There are 136 sports clubs that Graeme works with for the council, and he knows those would not run were it not for people like Denise.

“Volunteers are the heartbeat and lifeblood of sport in this country,” he adds. “It’s nice to highlight the difference they make.”

Graeme is also keen to emphasise the importance of younger volunteers as well.

“Young coaches are absolutely amazing,” he says. “We always look for, encourage and engage with young volunteers. There are lots of roles to do.”

Continuing to carry the message

It’s the ongoing nature of volunteering that is important for Graeme, and the impact being named BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero can have.

“It never stops,” he said. “If it stops we would be doing something wrong.”

And winning the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero award can be the springboard to even bigger things.

“Our winners just don’t just win – they go on to do even more,” adds Graeme.

Sue & Jim Houghton, who won in 2012 (after being nominated by Graeme), helped to build the Sport in Desford leisure centre, which this year won the Disability Programme of the Year at the British Tennis Awards.

The impetus is something Denise already acknowledges.

“Winning the award has given me confidence in what I am doing and made me realise that I am making a real difference,” she says.

‘I’m just the storyteller’

As for his role in highlighting Denise and the others he has nominated in the past?

“It’s not me. I just tell the story,” adds Graeme. “We work closely with everyone, so we know their story. They’re the superstars – I’m just lucky to be the storyteller.”

So Graeme would urge you to nominate someone for the award.

“Sport in this country wouldn’t happen without these volunteers,” he says.

“It’s a fantastic way to acknowledge and thank them for the work they do.”

Find out how to nominate someone for the 2018 BBC Unsung Hero award here.

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is a bona fide Hollywood smash. The movie tells the story of Rachel Chu, a native New Yorker who flies to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s family. The film is being lauded by some as monumental moment for representation because it tackles the complexities of what it means to be Asian-American. Others, though, say it shines a spotlight on Asian-American representation while ignoring other Asian groups.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:

 

Brad Jenkins, @bradjenkins

Executive Producer, Funny or Die

 

Nancy Wang Yuen, @nancywyuen

Sociologist 

 

Kimberly Yam, @kimmythepooh 

Asian Voices Editor, HuffPost

Read more: 

Is ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Asian enough? – The Washington Post 
‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is one of our saddest moments – Inkstone 
‘Crazy Rich Asians’ changes how Asian males are viewed – NPR 

What do you think? Record a video comment or leave your thoughts in the comments below. 

Puerto Rico was ravaged by Hurricane Maria one year ago next month. 

Since the island’s long recovery began, the government and independent institutions have worked to figure out exactly how many lives were taken by the effects of the extreme storm.

Today, we have a new, better estimate — and it’s more than 46 times the old one. 

According to a new study released by George Washington University (GW), 2,975 people died as a result of the hurricane. The government of Puerto Rico now accepts that number as an accurate death toll, updating their previous official estimate of 64.

The GW group teamed up with the University of Puerto Rico Graduate School of Public Health to analyze death certificates and other mortality data collected from September 2017 to February 2018. They found that the number of deaths during that time were uncharacteristically high, when compared to that same time period from other years. 

“The results of our epidemiological study suggest that, tragically, Hurricane Maria led to a large number of excess deaths throughout the island. Certain groups – those in lower income areas and the elderly – faced the highest risk,” lead investigator Carlos Santos-Burgoa said in statement on Tuesday.

In fact, the study found that in the poorest communities, the risk of dying increased 60 percent in the wake of Hurricane Maria. And the risk of dying increased 35 percent for older Puerto Rican males. 

This means that though the exact causes of death may be varied or unclear, in the six months after Hurricane Maria, more people died than usual. 

This kind of statistical analysis allows researchers to say that the hurricane left groups of people extremely vulnerable after the storm, even if the flooding rains and wind didn’t explicitly kill these individuals.

Researchers and journalists alike have long speculated that Puerto Rico’s official death toll of 64 was suspiciously low. 

Back in 2017, a New York Times investigation estimated that the death toll was around 1,052 — nearly 1,000 more than the original calculation. This led the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Roselló, to commission an independent study looking into the death toll in February 2018. 

“It is of great interest to the State to identify how many lives were lost due to the passage of Maria through the Island,” Roselló said in a statement announcing the effort. 

“It is our interest that experts can identify as accurately as possible the deaths directly and indirectly associated with the hurricane to improve protocols for future natural disasters.”

In early July, researchers at Harvard released a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine which estimated that an excess of 4,500 people died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria by surveying more than 3,000 houses. 

Then in late July, the Puerto Rican government quietly acknowledged that the death toll was likely much higher than 64, after releasing a 400-page document that put the toll at more than 1,400 people. The government waited for the GW study to officially update the death toll.  

The newest count puts Hurricane Maria in second place as the deadliest hurricane to ever hit the United States, behind the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 which reportedly took 6,000 lives or more. 

Aside from the official death toll, the study also provided recommendations to Puerto Rico’s local government and the U.S. federal government to better prepare for the next deadly storm. 

The study suggests a more efficient way to tally deaths after disasters, a fully staffed Department of Health, better intra-department communication, and other recommendations.  

“The lessons learned from this report and subsequent studies will help not just Puerto Rico, but other regions in the U.S. and around the world that face the ongoing threat of hurricanes and other natural disasters,” co-author Lynn R. Goldman said.

“If enacted, the recommendations of this report could help save lives in Puerto Rico and beyond.”