Publication Date November 30, 2017 | ABC News

Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria death toll rises to 58

Puerto Rico
A car drives under tilted power line poles in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Oct. 2, 2017. Photo: Ricardo Arduengo, AFP/Getty Images
A car drives under tilted power line poles in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Oct. 2, 2017. Photo: Ricardo Arduengo, AFP/Getty Images

It's been 70 days since Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, but the island's infrastructure remains in a state of disarray and the death toll continues to increase.

Three additional deaths were announced on Wednesday by the U.S. territory's Department of Public Safety, bringing the storm's death toll there to 58.

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The government’s official death toll count has faced scrutiny following the storm. The Department of Public Safety, which is the agency keeping track of the count, said in late October that there had been more than 900 cremations in Puerto Rico following the storm, but they were not counted as a part of the storm-related death toll because those cremated were designated to have died due to natural causes.

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The Department of Public Safety previously said that any increase in the number of deaths listed as related to Hurricane Maria would happen only if a body was sent to San Juan to be examined by a medical examiner or if a medical examiner went to a town to review a body.