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Article snippet: TUTU, V.I. — With residents ignoring the loosely enforced curfew here and lining up hours before the makeshift pantries opened, it was clear Monday that many were still going to end the day hungry. All some of them could do was walk around neighborhoods smelling for cooking and plead for the kindness of strangers. “It’s survival mode right now,” said Kaleem Stephens, a 30-year-old construction worker in St. Thomas. He was left without a home and had on the same clothes — a white T-shirt, gray basketball shorts and black basketball shoes — he was wearing when Hurricane Irma hit his island last Wednesday. To most Americans nervously watching the path of Hurricane Irma, the United States Virgin Islands were little more than marks on a map as the storm churned its way to the mainland. But on Monday, as Irma dropped below hurricane strength and most Floridians counted themselves lucky, it became clear that the country had a humanitarian crisis on its hands in one of its tropical paradises. Residents on St. John, which suffered even greater damage than St. Thomas, estimated that 80 percent of its structures had been extensively damaged, and those who had not evacuated were huddling together in groups of up to 50 in buildings that had no roofs. With many roads impassible, some had to walk for miles to food pantries to pick up ready-to-eat-meals and bottled water dropped by American military helicopters. Communication was spotty. Over a dozen cars were parked at one poin... Link to the full article to read more