Monday's announcement from the island's governor follows investigations from CNN and other news outlets that called into question the official death toll of 64.
"I welcomed recent news analysis on the number of hurricane-related deaths, and that they may be higher than the official count certified to date," Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said in a statement. "Those reports used the data provided by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry, but the Government needs to (investigate) if the increase of the deaths is related directly or indirectly with Hurricane Maria."
Last month, CNN surveyed half of the funeral homes in Puerto Rico and found that funeral home directors and staff believe that at least 499 deaths in the first month after the storm were attributable to Hurricane Maria. Reporters surveyed funeral home directors because they have access to death certificates and often speak with family members about the circumstances of a person's death.
The New York Times and others subsequently compiled statistics from the island's Demographic Registry showing that the death toll may be more than 1,000. Those reviews were statistical in nature; they counted excess deaths in 2017 compared with deaths in previous years. Experts have said that such an analysis is a respected way to estimate a storm's death toll.
