No one knows just how many people have died in Puerto Rico because of Hurricane Maria but almost every estimate (aside from that of the local government) has the number well into the hundreds—maybe even thousands. Though record keeping about recent deaths on the island is spotty at best, there is new data out that shows that the suicide rate is up by 50 percent.
Reported suicides in Puerto Rico jumped more than 50 percent in the months after Hurricane Maria ripped through the island, according to a recent report from the local government’s department of heath.
The report counted 27 suicides in September 2017 compared to 19 in September 2016. It also counted 22 in October 2017 (up from 18 the year before), 27 in November (up from 11), and 20 in December (up from 14).
Though this is terribly tragic, it shouldn’t be surprising. In the months following the hurricane, health professionals on the island warned that a mental health crisis was developing. Specifically, they cited that Puerto Ricans were already enduring stress and increased mental illness due to the dire financial situation on the island—which has resulted in high unemployment, crushing poverty and large numbers of family members leaving for the mainland. Add to this the trauma of living through a hurricane and its aftermath and, for some, mental illness can and has quickly worsened.
Among the various age groups, those older than 55 appear to have the biggest increase in numbers.
The total number of men who took their own lives in Puerto Rico saw a jump from 2016 to 2017 (174 to 271), and the number of women did as well (22 to 36).
Dr. Oxiris Barbot spent 12 days in Puerto Rico for a medical deployment with the relief effort coordinated by the City of New York. During her time there, she noted that many people had contemplated suicide or knew someone who had.
Among all the tragedy, what I found most disturbing was that every person I spoke to knew of someone personally, or within a degree of separation, who had attempted or completed suicide after the storm. [...]
Since the hurricane, stories of acute mental trauma and PTSD are more common. Staff working at Veteran’s Affairs hospitals on the island said that Puerto Rican veterans who fought in Korea and Vietnam are reliving their trauma: The devastated landscape, in conjunction with helicopters surveying the destruction, is reminding them of war.
Children, veterans, parents, the elderly, the disabled, people with existing mental illness—there is likely no demographic that hasn’t experienced anxiety or trauma due to this catastrophic event. We’ve heard a lot about infrastructure and debt reform in the months after Hurricane Maria. But whatever relief aid comes to Puerto Rico must include plans and services to address mental health. It is not sufficient to only pay attention to rebuilding physical structures and the economy, especially if it comes at the price of ignoring human beings who are suffering. Not only has the island changed forever, so has the psyche and mental well-being of its people. There is no reconstructing Puerto Rico if it doesn’t include helping its residents manage their grief, pain and loss.