The woman carried a small suitcase, enough for her and her child to try to start over.

The arduous passage to evacuate her broken island was nearly done — through the chaos of a port filled with capsized boats, the traffic-choked drive lined with buildings and homes torn from their foundations, and the desperation of the masses at the airport, hoping to flee the wreckage as armed soldiers kept order.

But as the evacuees finally prepared to board their flight, the airline announced that they could not take their suitcases with them. The woman, a civil servant, fell apart.

“I can’t take it anymore,” she screamed, crumpling onto the tarmac and pounding it with both hands. Her home destroyed, her child forced to seek even the most basic things elsewhere, her country reckoning with the staggering task of rebuilding and, in the much more immediate term, simply surviving.

A soldier rushed to comfort the woman while her daughter broke into tears, fighting with the attendant to keep her mother’s bag, a final indignity in a world stripped of its moorings.

Life, for now, is a fragile thing on St. Martin, one of the Caribbean islands hit hardest by Hurricane Irma. I first came here shortly after the storm, when severe food and water shortages were tearing at the social fabric, leaving residents to scavenge for food and, in some cases, fight over what little remained. Now, more than a week after the hurricane, a delicate order has been restored, for the most part.

But there is still almost no fuel or electricity, and food delivery, for now, remains erratic. A near total communication blackout throttles the island. Almost all of the schools are destroyed and will be closed for months, at best.

Hourslong lines wind through the port, as families, tourists and migrant workers alike wait for aid, receiving an odd assortment of items that on some days include frozen chicken and a three-pound bag of mozzarella cheese — on an island with no power and few working appliances to cook or refrigerate them.

With little phone or internet service, residents rely on chance encounters to learn the fate of their neighbours and loved ones. Just outside the local government’s makeshift emergency headquarters, a shriek rang out above the blare of car horns. Luce Kabache, the principal of a kindergarten who survived the storm with her family by hiding in a closet, saw one of her students and her parents passing in a vehicle. They stopped instantly, threw open the doors, ran into the street and embraced, weeping with relief.

“There’s no news, no way to communicate,” said Ms. Kabache, 56.

The island will have to start from scratch, creating itself anew, physically and psychologically. Tin roofing and smashed concrete line practically every street and alley, the disembodied bits of what was once a haven.

Hurricane Irma: Government 'trying' to help British Virgin Islands

Well beyond the urgent needs — distributing water and food to those without, restoring power and communications, repairing roofs and addressing the trauma inflicted by the storm — a faint possibility for the island’s rebirth is emerging.

For many, though, the future is confined to making it through the day.

“We have the chance to start back from zero,” said Daniel Gibbs, president of the local government on the French side of St. Martin. “It’s going to be tough for my population. They are suffering. But today we have the chance not to rebuild, but to build.”

The island — split between a French and a Dutch side, with a population of 75,000 over 34 square miles — has only just begun to take stock of its losses. The government on the French side has reported an official death toll of 11, but an assessment of the full extent of the islandwide destruction may be weeks or months away.

To many residents, including some doctors working in the emergency room on the French side, the death toll seems much too low. It is widely seen as unfathomable that so many people could have survived the harrowing Category 5 winds, which tore through the eastern Caribbean at speeds of up to 185 miles an hour. Some officials suggest that hundreds may have died in the storm.

“I have no idea how high the death toll will go, but I don’t think it will be in the hundreds,” said Mr. Gibbs, adding that the number of bodies recovered and people reported missing is small for now. “This thing was just so big, I think people believe the death toll has to be higher.”

Whatever new form the island takes, tourism will remain the heart of its economy. How long that will take is anyone’s guess. The storm did not differentiate between the island’s stark socioeconomic differences. Poor areas flooded and suffered the same as the high-cost, pastel-colored communities of Orient Bay.

Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Show all 45 1 /45 Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Recently planted palm trees lie strewn across the road as Hurricane Irma passes by in Miami Beach, Fla. 10 September 2017. AP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Damage outside the Mercure hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures People pick up debris in Fajardo as Hurricane Irma howled past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Large waves produced by Hurricane Irma crash into the end of Anglins Fishing Pier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The category 4 hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba. 10 September 2017 Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A Royal Air Force Puma has been delivered to the US Virgin Islands to assist with the humanitarian efforts post Hurricane Irma. The Puma will be delivering Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief in support of the Department for International Development. Royal Air Force logisticians from RAF Brize Norton have assisted with the delivery of military personnel and aid cargo to the Caribbean to support disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Irma. RAF aircraft including, C-17 A400M and Voyager are supporting a Joint Task Force of RAF, Royal Marines, Army and RN personnel who are supporting the Department for International Development as it delivers aid to stricken Caribbean Islands. MoD Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, 9 September 2017 in Miami. Though most animals will reman in their secure structures, the cheetahs and some birds will ride out the storm in temporary housing. AP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Boats are seen at a marina in South Beach as Hurricane Irma arrives at south Florida, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. 10 September 2017 Reuters Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Storm clouds are seen over Fisher Island as Hurricane Irma approaches on 9 September 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4 Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Waves crash over a seawall at the mouth of the Miami River from Biscayne Bay, Fla., as Hurricane Irma passes by. 10 September 2017 AP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Some of the damage on Saint Martin EPA/Gerben Van Es/Dutch Department of Defence Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures The skyline is seen as the outerbands of Hurricane Irma start to reach Florida on 9 September 2017 in Miami, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4. Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A tree toped by hurricane Irma is seen on a empty street in Remedios, Cuba, 9 September 2017. Hurricane Irma reached Cuba bringing winds between 160 and 190 kilometers per hour. The hurricane has hit the north coast of the island. EPA Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures James Constantineau loads sands bags in his truck as he prepares for the approach of Hurricane Irma Saturday, 9 September 2017, in East Palatka, Fla. Gov. Rick Scott is urging anyone living in an evacuation zone in southwest Florida to leave by noon as the threat of Hurricane Irma has shifted west. AP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures The Fort Louis Marina in Marigot is seen on 8 September 2017 in Saint-Martin island, devastated by Hurricane Irma. AFP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Destruction in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures The wreckage in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A mobile network tower snapped in two by the hurricane on the island of Barbuda ABS TV Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A house reduced to rubble on the island of Saint Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures General view of damage on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A damaged Casino Royale on Saint Martin after the passage of Hurricane Irma Anna Mazur/AFP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch department of Defense shows the damage of Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, the Dutch section of the Caribbean Island Gerben Van Es/AFP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Flooded houses in Gustavia on the island of Saint-Barthelemy Kevin Barrallon/AFP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures The damage on the island of Saint-Martin, a day after Hurricane Irma hit AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A man carrying an umbrella is battered by the wind in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A lone police car on patrol during the passing of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Jose Jimenez/Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Haitian people walk through the wind and rain on a beach in Cap-Haitien on September 7 as Hurricane Irma approaches Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A flooded street on the island of Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A tree collapsed on a house in Saint Martin Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A hotel in Saint Martin is gutted by floodwater during the hurricane Guadeloupe 1ère Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Cars submerged in Saint Martin Rinsy Xieng Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Debris floats amongst the floodwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Household items float down the street in Gustavia, Saint-Barthélemy Carole Greaux Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures The coast of Saint Martin is flooded as the hurricane hits the island Météo Express Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A whole street underwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A car crashes into the tree amongst the chaos in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A building on the Saint Martin seafront, destroyed by the hurricane @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A mobile home overturned at Princess Juliana International Airport in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Palm trees bend in the wind in San Juan, Puerto Rico as Hurricane Irma slammed across islands in the northern Caribbean Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A woman runs in the rain as Hurricane Irma slammed into San Juan, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A picture taken on September 5, 2017 shows a view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, with the wind blowing ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures A man rides past a boarded up house as part of preparations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma on September 5, 2017, in the French overseas island of Guadeloupe Helene Valenzuela/AFP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Employees of the Mercure Hotel fill sand bags on the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, as part of the preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irma Lionel Chamoiseau/AFP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures People in line at Costco, as they find out the store has ran out of water on September 5, 2017 in North Miami Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP Hurricane Irma – devastation caused in pictures Night view of the city of Cap-Haitien, in the north of Haiti, 240 km from Port-au-Prince, on September 5, 2017 Hector Retamal/AFP

Along the coastline of Marigot, the nerve center of the economy on the French side, the storm toppled restaurants, shops, banks and open-air markets, leaving them desolate, practically abandoned in the midday heat.

Rémy Thibaud sat on his battered patio in the shade of the only palm tree left standing, yelling into the phone. Around him were the splintered remnants of his restaurant and bakery. The sea, an inviting cerulean once again, offered a cruel contrast to the chaotic mess where he sat, alone and facing economic ruin.

A creditor had called, checking on his next payment for the baking equipment he’d bought two years earlier. What baking equipment, he wanted to know? The oven was filled with seawater when he came to check on his restaurant after the storm.

He hung up.

“Vulture,” said Mr. Thibaud, 48, adjusting the motorcycle gloves he was wearing to clear debris. His insurance, he discovered, would not cover anything on the terrace, which was pretty much the entire restaurant. But he would stay, he had decided, and rebuild what he lost.

Many others are leaving. Two of his waiters had already fled. Others, too, have made the difficult choice to abandon their homes, at least temporarily.

Christiane Carvigant sat near the makeshift government offices with her three children, ages 17, 16 and 9, as they prepared to evacuate. The children cannot afford to miss school, she said, especially Emeline, a high school senior who is meant to graduate this year. Her two girls and little boy will stay with family on the French island of Guadeloupe, a little less than an hour away by plane.

The family had survived the hurricane in the bathroom of their home, huddled in the tiny space for four hours as the wind howled and tore at the roof. Ms. Carvigant would rebuild as her children studied. Who knew when they could come back?

A bus came past to collect the children for their flight. Ms. Carvigant began to cry.

“It will be a long time before we can live normally again,” she said, “but at least we have our lives.”

Ludmen Vincia, a Haitian woman whose children were born in St. Martin, is trapped. Her son, Michael, has special learning needs, and their social worker says he must leave the island to continue studying. But her residency permit expired two years ago, meaning that she cannot leave the island on one of the flights chartered for evacuees. And she cannot send the boy alone — there is no family in Guadeloupe to care for him, and she does not have the money to place him with one.

“I’m not really sure what to do,” she said. The island’s physical scars — hillsides robbed of their lush greenery, disemboweled homes stacked on the roadside — are a constant reminder of all that has been lost, and the unrecognizable transformation the island endured in just a few hours of Irma’s fury.

But the smashed storefronts from robberies that occurred in the aftermath of the storm have created a different kind of crisis.

The lawlessness that prevailed in the first days after the storms — when some people moved from scavenging food for survival to pillaging appliances, jewelry and cellphones — shattered the image many residents had of their island.

“I’m so angry for what those people did to this country,” said Rosette Francillette, a 55-year-old resident of the lower-income neighborhood of Sandy Grounds, clutching her granddaughter in her arms. “I understand stealing groceries, but these wicked people destroyed everything that wasn’t already destroyed.”

The beauty store where she works, called Lipstick, was ransacked, she said, leaving her jobless.

“I love my country, but I hate that people did this,” she said.

Nun with a chainsaw seen helping clean up after Hurricane Irma

Still, having peered over the precipice of natural catastrophe and social disorder, others have found reasons to be hopeful.

At a storm shelter in the neighbourhood of Concordia, a motley crew assembled in the emptied classrooms of a converted elementary school. A Dominican mother quietly bathed her children over a drain in the playground, while homeless men reeking of rum stumbled around the hallways and the windswept parking lot.

Alvin Carrasco squatted beneath a tree, manning a grill fashioned from a metal tray and fueled by the branches and detritus left from the storm. Meat donated by a store owner near to where Mr. Carrasco has been cleaning the streets sat atop the metal grating, lightly sizzling.

“This is the best time to stay,” he said. “I was here before the storm, suffering, not getting any work.” With the cleanup and construction in the months and years to come, he might rebuild his life, too. “This is my chance to start all over,” he said.