The hearing by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was held to evaluate the federal government’s response to the 2017 hurricane season, including lessons learned and opportunities to improve the federal natural disaster response.
Lynn R. Goldman, the Michael and Lori Milken Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University, testified November 29 on Capitol Hill about the findings of a recent study conducted by Milken Institute SPH researchers to estimate the excess mortality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. The hearing by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was held to evaluate the federal government’s response to the 2017 hurricane season, including lessons learned and opportunities to improve the federal natural disaster response.
Dean Goldman told members of Congress and those attending the hearing that the study estimated there were 2,975 lives lost in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Marie—with the poor and the elderly being hardest hit.
The independent report published by a team of Milken Institute SPH researchers, including Dean Goldman, included a set of recommendations aimed at helping Puerto Rico and other vulnerable coastal areas worldwide prepare for extreme weather like Hurricane Maria.
Read more about the Milken Institute SPH project to estimate the excess mortality in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria here.