How Many People Died As a Result of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017?

Anti-Trump critics disputed President Trump's assertion that 3,000 people didn't die as a result of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico:

3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018

Many are citing a George Washington University study alleging 2,975 deaths in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria.

FEMA Administrator Brock Long defended Trump's statement on the number of deaths, and questioned the study's methodology as well.

NEW: FEMA administrator Brock Long disputes the validity of studies that say nearly 3,000 deaths were the result of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year. #MTP #IfiItsSunday https://t.co/7GlBhbOaql pic.twitter.com/4GzjbaMYMH

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 16, 2018

A study written by Alexis Santos-Lozada of Penn State published in JAMA concluded that the

"estimated hurricane-related mortality burden of 1,139 excess deaths through December 2017 was higher than the official death toll of 64."

Santos-Lozada took issue with another study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that alleged that the number of excess deaths "is more than 70 times the official estimate," or 4,645 deaths. He said that study "indicated a high level of uncertainty."

As Brock Long said, "the numbers are all over the place," but those who allege deaths anywhere around 3,000 or above haven't proven their case to the satisfaction of peer scholars.

Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh recently pointed out, "Nobody has counted the bodies. Nobody has seen the caskets."