(CNN) In 2017, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria hit the United States in August and September. The storms were blamed for the deaths of more 3,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Although all three hurricanes were destructive, a new study from online journal BMJ Global Health indicates the US federal response to the hurricane disaster in Puerto Rico was lopsided compared to the response in Florida and Texas.

Using public data, BMJ created a timeline of staff and funding coming directly from FEMA to those affected by the hurricanes. The study focused on measures of federal spending, distributed federal resources, and direct and indirect storm-mortality tolls. The study says its results show the federal response was faster and "more generous" in terms of funding and staffing for Hurricane Irma in Florida and Harvey in Texas than for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a self-governing US territory whose citizens are Americans.

All three hurricanes made landfall as Category 4 storms, and the study indicates its results would make sense if the damage for Maria was less expensive or less altering than those of the other storms. According to CNN reporting, the damage estimate for Maria is $90 billion, $125 billion for Harvey and $50 billion for Irma.

The combination of direct and indirect storm fatalities also plays a role in understanding the amount of damage inflicted upon the areas, the study says. Hurricane Irma led to 92 deaths, Hurricane Harvey was blamed for 103 deaths and Maria led to 3,040 deaths, according to numbers compiled by BMJ Global Health.

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