Embattled FEMA administrator William Long said Sunday that the figures for how many people died as a result of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year are ‘all over the place’. Long’s television appearances were supposed to focus on the administration’s response efforts as Hurricane Florence tears through the Carolinas. Yet that message was overshadowed by questions surrounding Long’s future at FEMA, now in jeopardy due to an internal investigation of his alleged misuse of government resources, and the uproar caused by Trump’s response to the death toll in Puerto Rico. If researchers had attributed every death on the island to the storm, the six-month death toll from the hurricane would have been more than five times as high. Article Continued BelowDemocrats as well as some Republicans criticized Trump for appearing to minimize the death toll.

Source: thestar September 17, 2018 00:56 UTC