holding the official death toll for maria at just 64, two weeks ago, following a study commissioned by the island s government, puerto rico finally raised the official death toll attributed to the storm to 2,975. that puts it almost exactly at the death toll of americans killed 17 years ago today in the attacks of 9/11. and tonight buzzfeed news reports that of more than 2,000 puerto ricans who applied to fema for funeral assistance for loved ones who died as a result of maria, fema approved just 75 of those more than 2,000 funeral assistance applications. in a letter to senator elizabeth warren, fema director brock long wrote, quote, as of july 30th, his agency had received 2,341 requests for funeral assistance for puerto ricans related to hurricane maria. fema approved just 75 of those requests, meaning 97% were either rejected or haven t
2,975. that puts it almost exactly at the death toll of americans killed 17 years ago today in the attacks of 9/11. and tonight buzzfeed news reports that of more than 2,000 puerto ricans who applied to fema for funeral assistance for loved ones who died as a result of maria, fema approved just 75 of those more than 2,000 funeral assistance applications. in a letter to senator elizabeth warren, fema director brock long wrote, quote, as of july 30th, his agency had received 2,431 requests for funeral assistance for puerto ricans related to hurricane maria. fema approved just 75 of those requests, meaning 97% were either rejected or haven t received a decision yet almost a year after maria hit the island. fema s funeral assistance is intended to help people who lost loved ones in disaster situations, to help them pay for funeral costs including caskets,