Funding was ‘unnecessarily delayed’ by bureaucratic obstacles, after hurricane killed thousands of people in 2017 Buildings damaged by Hurricane Maria in Lares, Puerto Rico, in 2017. The hurricane killed thousands of people. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters Buildings damaged by Hurricane Maria in Lares, Puerto Rico, in 2017. The hurricane killed thousands of people. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters CoralMurphyMarcosinSanJuan Thu 22 Apr 2021 12.03 EDT Last modified on Thu 22 Apr 2021 12.17 EDT The efforts to deliver recovery funding to the island were “unnecessarily delayed by bureaucratic obstacles”, according to the 46-page report. The hurricane, which hit the island in 2017, killed thousands of people and left thousands more without electricity or water for months.