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The number of murders in Puerto Rico have soared after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria sparked "lawlessness".

Thirty-two people have been slain on the Caribbean island in the first 11 days of the year, double the number killed over the same period in 2017.

If the surge proves to be more than just a temporary rise, January could be the most homicidal month on the island in at least two years, adding a dangerous new element to the island's recovery from Hurricane Maria, its worst disaster in decades.

While the number of homicides did not immediately spike in the weeks after the hurricane struck on September 20, police and independent experts say many killings appear at least partly related to its after effects.

The storm has plunged much of the island into darkness, increased economic hardship and contributed to a sickout by police, all fuelling lawlessness. What's more, officials say a turf war has broken out among drug gangs looking to grab territory after the storm's disruption.

"Hurricanes affect everyone, including criminals," said criminologist Jose Raul Cepeda.

Already bankrupt, the island's overwhelmed government has fallen behind with millions of dollars in overtime payments owed to police officers, who have begun calling in sick in big numbers to protest.

The protest has taken about 2,000 police off the street each day in a territory that has 13,600 officers. It has forced more than a dozen police stations to close for several hours to a couple of days during the holiday period because of a lack of officers. No arrests have been made in the 32 killings this year.

Maria, which hit as a Category 4 storm, destroyed much of the island's electrical grid. For those police on duty, the streets are darker and more dangerous because power has been restored to only 60 percent of customers in the U.S. territory. Drug gangs are fighting to re-establish territory they lost in the disruption from Maria, which pushed thousands from their homes and left entire neighbourhoods uninhabitable for weeks.

Hurricane Maria - In pictures 34 show all Hurricane Maria - In pictures 1/34 Trees are ripped out in a car park in San Juan, Puerto Rico AFP/Getty Images 2/34 An uprooted tree covers a small house in the village of Viard - Petit Bourg, near Pointe-a-Pitre AFP/Getty Images 3/34 A man and his daughter flee from the rain on a beach in San Juan, Puerto Ric AFP/Getty Images 4/34 Islanders board up windows of a business in Puerto Rico AFP/Getty Images 5/34 Powerful winds and rains of hurricane Maria battering the city of Petit-Bourg on the French overseas Caribbean island of Guadeloupe AFP/Getty Images 6/34 Rocks swept by strong waves onto a road in Le Carbet, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria AFP/Getty Images 7/34 Hurricane Maria which bore down menacingly on the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday after devastating the tiny island nation of Dominica and Hurricane Jose (top) are both seen in the Atlantic Ocean Reuters 8/34 Refugees are seen at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum refuge in San Juan, Puerto Rico AFP/Getty Images 9/34 Five U.S. Navy vessels maneuver around Hurricane Maria before eventually returning to assist the U.S. Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean Sea REUTERS 10/34 Storm damage to a tool shed/dog house, caused by Hurricane Maria in Bouillante, Guadeloupe AP 11/34 A lady holds her rosary as she takes part in a prayer circle at a makeshift at the Juan Ponce de Leon Elementary School before the arrival of Hurricane Mari, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, AP 12/34 Shoppers at a Wal Mart load up on supplies in preparation for a direct hit from Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico Getty Images 13/34 People stand next to debris at a restaurant in Le Carbet, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria AFP/Getty Images 14/34 People clear debris in Saint-Pierre, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria AFP/Getty Images 15/34 A motorist drives on the flooded waterfront in Fort-de-France, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria AFP/Getty Images 16/34 A man walks in a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Maria in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island Reuters 17/34 A man looks at a fallen tree as he walks along a street after the passage of Hurricane Maria in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island Reuters 18/34 A man removes a branch in a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Maria in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island Reuters 19/34 Shopping carts are seen in a flooded parking after the passage of Hurricane Maria on the outskirts of Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island Reuters 20/34 A flooded street in Pointe-a-Pitre after the powerful winds and rain of hurricane Maria battered the French overseas Caribbean island of Guadeloupe AFP/Getty Images 21/34 Hurricane Maria approaching the Leeward Islands, as the hurricane intensified into a "potentially catastrophic" category five storm and continued on a collision course with British overseas territories already battered by Irma NOAA/PA 22/34 Hurricane Maria flattened homes in Dominica 23/34 Members of the Guadeloupe Adapted Military Service Regiment gather detritus on 18 September 18, 2017, as they clean Sandy Ground on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma, and in order to limit the risk of flooding and projectiles as Hurricane Maria approaches the Caribbean AFP/Getty Images 24/34 Members of the Guadeloupe Adapted Military Service Regiment gather detritus on 18 September 18, 2017, as they clean Sandy Ground on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma, and in order to limit the risk of flooding and projectiles as Hurricane Maria approaches the Caribbean AFP/Getty Images 25/34 40 Commando Assault Engineers boarding up windows at Road Town Police Station in preparation for Storm Maria on the British Virgin Islands EPA 26/34 Préfet de Guadeloupe 27/34 People board up windows in Dominica AFP/Getty Images 28/34 Women in Dominica prepare for Hurricane Maria AP 29/34 Army soldiers wait with their belongings on a beach for transport on a Navy landing craft while evacuating in advance of Hurricane Maria Reuters 30/34 Crewmen brace themselves from the propeller wash of a Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey departing the aboard the USS Kearsarge as U.S. military continues to evacuate from the U.S. Virgin Islands in advance of Hurricane Maria Reuters 31/34 Category 3 hurricane: Soldiers board a Navy landing craft during an evacuation in advance of Hurricane Maria Reuters 32/34 Soldiers wait on a beach for a Navy landing craft as their unit evacuates in advance of Hurricane Maria Reuters 33/34 Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico in Fajardo AFP/Getty Images 34/34 Winds lash the coastal city of Fajardo in Puerto Rico as Hurricane Maria arrives AFP/Getty Images 1/34 Trees are ripped out in a car park in San Juan, Puerto Rico AFP/Getty Images 2/34 An uprooted tree covers a small house in the village of Viard - Petit Bourg, near Pointe-a-Pitre AFP/Getty Images 3/34 A man and his daughter flee from the rain on a beach in San Juan, Puerto Ric AFP/Getty Images 4/34 Islanders board up windows of a business in Puerto Rico AFP/Getty Images 5/34 Powerful winds and rains of hurricane Maria battering the city of Petit-Bourg on the French overseas Caribbean island of Guadeloupe AFP/Getty Images 6/34 Rocks swept by strong waves onto a road in Le Carbet, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria AFP/Getty Images 7/34 Hurricane Maria which bore down menacingly on the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday after devastating the tiny island nation of Dominica and Hurricane Jose (top) are both seen in the Atlantic Ocean Reuters 8/34 Refugees are seen at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum refuge in San Juan, Puerto Rico AFP/Getty Images 9/34 Five U.S. Navy vessels maneuver around Hurricane Maria before eventually returning to assist the U.S. Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean Sea REUTERS 10/34 Storm damage to a tool shed/dog house, caused by Hurricane Maria in Bouillante, Guadeloupe AP 11/34 A lady holds her rosary as she takes part in a prayer circle at a makeshift at the Juan Ponce de Leon Elementary School before the arrival of Hurricane Mari, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, AP 12/34 Shoppers at a Wal Mart load up on supplies in preparation for a direct hit from Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico Getty Images 13/34 People stand next to debris at a restaurant in Le Carbet, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria AFP/Getty Images 14/34 People clear debris in Saint-Pierre, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria AFP/Getty Images 15/34 A motorist drives on the flooded waterfront in Fort-de-France, on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, after it was hit by Hurricane Maria AFP/Getty Images 16/34 A man walks in a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Maria in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island Reuters 17/34 A man looks at a fallen tree as he walks along a street after the passage of Hurricane Maria in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island Reuters 18/34 A man removes a branch in a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Maria in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island Reuters 19/34 Shopping carts are seen in a flooded parking after the passage of Hurricane Maria on the outskirts of Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island Reuters 20/34 A flooded street in Pointe-a-Pitre after the powerful winds and rain of hurricane Maria battered the French overseas Caribbean island of Guadeloupe AFP/Getty Images 21/34 Hurricane Maria approaching the Leeward Islands, as the hurricane intensified into a "potentially catastrophic" category five storm and continued on a collision course with British overseas territories already battered by Irma NOAA/PA 22/34 Hurricane Maria flattened homes in Dominica 23/34 Members of the Guadeloupe Adapted Military Service Regiment gather detritus on 18 September 18, 2017, as they clean Sandy Ground on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma, and in order to limit the risk of flooding and projectiles as Hurricane Maria approaches the Caribbean AFP/Getty Images 24/34 Members of the Guadeloupe Adapted Military Service Regiment gather detritus on 18 September 18, 2017, as they clean Sandy Ground on the French Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, after it was hit by Hurricane Irma, and in order to limit the risk of flooding and projectiles as Hurricane Maria approaches the Caribbean AFP/Getty Images 25/34 40 Commando Assault Engineers boarding up windows at Road Town Police Station in preparation for Storm Maria on the British Virgin Islands EPA 26/34 Préfet de Guadeloupe 27/34 People board up windows in Dominica AFP/Getty Images 28/34 Women in Dominica prepare for Hurricane Maria AP 29/34 Army soldiers wait with their belongings on a beach for transport on a Navy landing craft while evacuating in advance of Hurricane Maria Reuters 30/34 Crewmen brace themselves from the propeller wash of a Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey departing the aboard the USS Kearsarge as U.S. military continues to evacuate from the U.S. Virgin Islands in advance of Hurricane Maria Reuters 31/34 Category 3 hurricane: Soldiers board a Navy landing craft during an evacuation in advance of Hurricane Maria Reuters 32/34 Soldiers wait on a beach for a Navy landing craft as their unit evacuates in advance of Hurricane Maria Reuters 33/34 Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico in Fajardo AFP/Getty Images 34/34 Winds lash the coastal city of Fajardo in Puerto Rico as Hurricane Maria arrives AFP/Getty Images

Police Chief Michelle Hernandez resigned Monday after only a year on the job, and local and federal authorities are rushing from meeting to meeting to debate how to best protect 3.3 million Puerto Ricans, especially those still living in the dark.

"This has been devastating," said Ramon Santiago, a retiree who lives less than a block from where three bodies were discovered Sunday near a basketball court. "You can't sleep peacefully in so much darkness."

Puerto Rico's homicide rate is roughly 20 killings per 100,000 residents, compared with 3.7 per 100,000 residents on the U.S. mainland. In the last two years, Puerto Rico has seen an average of 56 homicides a month, a rate that held through December. Then after New Year's, the killings started accelerating.

A man was shot Jan. 3 by a security guard while trying to rob a bakery. Two double homicides were reported Jan. 8 - two men found shot to death in a car near an upscale resort on the north coast and two other men discovered sprawled on the street near a public housing complex on the west coast. Five killings alone were reported Monday, in addition to three people wounded by gunfire during a shootout that night in the parking lot of a strip mall in Bayamon. This week, police say, the son of a former judge was killed after trying to write down the license plate number of a car whose occupants were firing a gun.

"The lack of police is increasing Puerto Rico's safety issues," said legislator Denis Marquez, who was mugged at gunpoint last month. "Everybody is feeling that insecurity."

Besides policing and getting the lights back on, he said, the government needs to address long-standing issues such as social inequality on an island with a 10 percent unemployment rate, where nearly 45 percent of its inhabitants lived in poverty before the hurricane.

Hurricane Maria caused an estimated $95 billion in damage, with 30,000-plus jobs lost in an economy that was already struggling from an 11-year-old recession.

The last time Puerto Rico saw a spike in violent crime was in 2011, when a record 1,136 killings were reported on an island of nearly 4 million people. Puerto Rico had seen a drop in killings, to 700 in 2016 and 679 last year.

Hector Pesquera, secretary of the newly created Department of Public Safety, met this week with top police officials and federal authorities.

"We're in a process of analysis and of committed work to fight criminality in Puerto Rico," he said.