Did close to 3,000 puerto ricans die in hurricane Maria?

Close to 3,000 Puerto Ricans died because Hurricane Maria made life really hard for them all at once.

A hurricane is like a super-strong windstorm that comes from the ocean and hits land. It brings rain, strong winds, and sometimes even floods. Hurricane Maria was one of those big storms, it hit Puerto Rico in 2017.

Before the hurricane, many people in Puerto Rico already had problems, like not having enough electricity or clean water. When Maria came, it broke power lines, stopped water from flowing, and even knocked down buildings. It was like a big mess that made everything harder.

People couldn’t get food, they couldn’t take medicine, and sometimes they got sick because of the bad conditions. That’s why so many people died, not just from the storm itself, but also from the problems it caused after it hit.