Photos reveal dire situation unfolding in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a vicious Category 4 storm, has left the U.S. territory in ruins. The power grid across the island is down, as are communications. Most residents have no access to safe drinking water, necessary medications, or even money, since ATMs don't work.

The storm crossed over the island from southeast to northwest, bringing hurricane force winds of 74 miles per hour or greater, to the entire territory. Hurricane Maria was also a prolific rainmaker, dumping more than 40 inches of water in some areas, causing mudslides and widespread flooding.

Compared to other deadly hurricanes this season, including Harvey in Texas and Irma in Florida, the federal government's response has been slow. It took nearly four days for President Trump to tweet about the storm's aftermath, and when he did, he appeared to blame the damage on the island's massive debt.

On Tuesday, Trump announced he would travel to Puerto Rico the following week, but this came only after a growing chorus of criticism that the White House was neglecting the island, despite the fact that its residents are U.S. citizens.

On Tuesday morning, San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz told CBS News that the situation in her city was growing more dire. "It's life or death," she said.

"People are starting to die already. People are really dying. I've put them in the ambulances when they're gasping for air."

The best way to grasp the growing humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico is to experience it visually, because the scale and scope of the damage is staggering.

https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F602489%2Fba904a47-fe5e-4109-8214-d770dd1caf57 — A man rides his bicycle through a damaged road in Toa Alta, west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 24, 2017, following the passage of Hurricane Maria.

https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F602665%2F69420fb1-7188-4411-bb8d-5683df93868b — Highway 10, a major north-south connection through Puerto Rico is completey washed out, leaving people cut off.

https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F602413%2F68a5d9a3-2cfc-4a68-8374-db10cee06f86 — A house destroyed by hurricane winds is seen in Toa Alta, southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 24, 2017

https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F602581%2F63cd8948-66e6-430a-b3f6-395e012ba464 — A woman sits in her car and tries to make a cell phone call on a highway near Dorado, 40 km north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 23, 2017

https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F602419%2F74090635-04df-4d60-97ac-256f6d7205b6 — People walk across a flooded street in Juana Matos, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 21, 2017

https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F603380%2F536ac9c3-58bc-450b-828b-6ab2b3c269b8 — Destroyed houses in Frederiksted, St. Croix

The storm also struck the island of St. Croix as well as parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prior to hitting Puerto Rico, it destroyed much of the Caribbean island of Dominica, where it made a direct hit as a Category 5 storm.

Following the monstrous storm, Roosevelt Skerrit, the prime minister of Dominica, made an impassioned plea for action on climate change during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

"I come to you straight from the front line of the war on climate change," Prime Minister Skerrit said. "Mr. President, to deny climate change is to procrastinate while the Earth sinks; it is to deny a truth we have just lived!"

"It is to mock thousands of my compatriots, who in a few hours, without a roof over their heads, will watch the night descend on Dominica, in fear of sudden mudslides... and what the next hurricane may bring," Skerrit said.