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Environment

Death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria more than doubles to 34

An aerial photo shows damage caused by Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 27, 2017. Picture taken September 27, 2017. REUTERS/DroneBase

(Reuters) - The death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria has more than doubled to 34, a spokesman for Governor Ricardo Rosello said on Tuesday.

The worst hurricane to hit the U.S. territory in more than 90 years directly killed 19 people, said Pedro Cerame, the governor’s director of communications in Washington.

Just hours earlier when President Donald Trump visited the island to survey the damage the official death toll remained as it has for days at 16 dead.

Reporting by Lisa Shumaker in Chicago; Editing by Sandra Maler

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