For at least the next few months, St. Croix Hospital will be a series of tents in a parking lot beside its roofless former building.
"Our roof went, then we had water damage which resembled Niagara Falls, then our generator blew up," said Jacqueline B. Hoop, an Indianapolis native and the U.S. Virgin Island's assistant commissioner of health for operations.The tent city comprises St. Croix's only hospital and can house 120 patients. Despite the difficulties, Ms. Hoop said conditions are far better than on Sept. 18, the day after Hurricane Hugo struck.
"In comparison to Sept. 18, we're back to normal," she said. "But that certainly is on a different yardstick than before Hurricane Hugo."
Thirty-five miles to the south of St. Thomas and St. John, St. Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, with a population of 35,000 on its 84 square miles.
Ninety-seven percent of the island's homes were destroyed or badly damaged by Hugo, the mightiest storm to hit the northeast Caribbean in a decade. Damage on St. Croix is estimated at hundreds of millions, with boat damage accounting for about $12 million. It will be months before cruise ships can again dock in St. Croix.
The island's reputation as a tourist attraction was also badly damaged by reports of post-storm looting, which prompted President Bush to dispatch troops to maintain order. During the lawlessness after the hurricane, merchants in Fredericksted and Christiansted - the island's only cities - posted armed guards. One restaurant in Fredericksted was burned to the ground.
But even with peace returned, the disturbances have made people edgy and cautious about strangers. In one trailer park destroyed by Hugo, owners have stationed themselves at the front gate to screen those entering.
In Fredericksted, troops patrol the deserted city. As recently as two weeks ago, fewer than one-quarter of the island's homes and businesses had electricity and few had telephone service or running water.
With only two grocery stores open on the island, food is being distributed through emergency centers se up by the American Red Cross and stocked by the National Guard. Water tanks still sit on corners to dispense to residents.
The slow restoration of normal life on St. Croix is a stark contrast to nearby St. Thomas, where cruise ships are docking and electrical and water service is restored to nearly every section. The only notable items missing are stoplights, which were blown out to sea.
Students on St. Thomas returned to school two weeks ago. Most students on St. Croix returned last week and face double sessions to make up for more than a month of classes they lost because of the hurricane.
All the islands are still operating under a state of emergency and curfews are in effect.
And people on St. Croix are doing what they can.
"Most everybody lost something. Some people have nothing left - not even their house," said Corien Dopwell, raking litter on the ground in the Harbor View Project. "But we have life so we can build back everything we had or even more."
At the island's largest disaster relief center in a school near Fredericksted, hundreds of resident lined up for food and supplies. Workers dispensed everything from soup and whole tomatoes to peanut butter and diapers.
As of two weeks ago, the center had served some 2,369 people. Oct. 18, however, was the first day the center had enough food to meet the demand, said Jennifer Halcott, a Red Cross volunteer.
In fact, some of the islanders are so desperate for food that a man advertising stale bread at a roadside stand sold out.
Despite their desire to put Hugo into the past, residents are quick to relate their experiences that night. And many describe it in "Wizard of Oz"-like terms.
Said Ms. Hoop: "It was like going to sleep in one world and waking up in another. There are no landmarks anymore."
Sarah Sturmon is a reporter for The Cincinnati Post.