San Juan, Puerto Rico (CNN) "I don't want to live here anymore."

Eyleen Gonzalez, all of 18 years of age, uttered that phrase without hesitating.

Gonzalez's house in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, was destroyed by Hurricane Maria nearly two weeks ago.

Since then, everyone in her hometown has lived without electricity. Only a quarter of its 80,000 residents have running water. About half of gas stations in town are open, with long queues stretching blocks. Most supermarkets are open but rationing food.

The destruction in Toa Baja is the rule, not the exception, in Puerto Rico, where the recovery has moved at a glacial pace, according to over a dozen interviews with residents, local relief workers and small-town mayors across the island.

Federal officials and Puerto Rican government leaders stress the recovery efforts are "united." But things took a divisive twist Saturday when President Donald Trump lambasted the mayor of San Juan , Carmen Yulin Cruz, for "poor leadership."

Trump visits Puerto Rico on Tuesday, and he may get a sense of why the recovery has been a nightmare for many of the island's 3.4 million US citizens.

"My people are suffering. This is a disaster," says Carlos Mendez, the mayor of Aguadilla in western Puerto Rico.

Overwhelming destruction

The Port of San Juan, where much of the humanitarian aid is arriving, doesn't have enough truck drivers. Even if it did, many trucks don't have enough diesel fuel to deliver food, water and other essentials. There's little cell service for those with the aid to communicate with towns, drivers and locals. Banks can't get enough armored trucks to deliver cash too.

On top of all that, roads are marred with fallen trees -- or the road just doesn't exist anymore. In one town, residents strung a cable across a river to ford it in knee-deep water because the bridge connecting the two sides had been washed a football field's length downriver.

Meanwhile, hospitals and food banks are running low on fuel for their generators to keep the lights on and preserve fruits, veggies and meat.

Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean An apartment building is missing a wall in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday, September 25, nearly a week after Hurricane Maria devastated the US commonwealth. Power is still out in most places, and communications remain almost nonexistent on the island of 3.4 million people. Hide Caption 1 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Yancy Leon rests at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport near San Juan on September 25. She's been waiting in line for two days to get a flight out. Hide Caption 2 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean An aerial view shows the flooding in San Juan on September 25. Hide Caption 3 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean People collect water from a natural spring created by landslides in Corozal, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, September 24. Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said the island faces a humanitarian crisis. Hide Caption 4 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean An aerial view shows a flooded neighborhood in Catano, Puerto Rico, on Friday, September 22. Hide Caption 5 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A man cleans a muddy street in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, on September 22. Hide Caption 6 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A man walks on a highway divider while carrying his bicycle through San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Thursday, September 21. Hide Caption 7 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A shack is destroyed in San Juan on September 21. Hide Caption 8 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A gas station's sign is damaged in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, as the hurricane passed just north of the country on September 21. Hide Caption 9 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Rescue workers drive through a flooded road in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday, September 20. Hide Caption 10 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A mattress that fell from the third floor is surrounded by debris outside a San Juan apartment complex on September 20. Hide Caption 11 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Damage is seen in Roseau, Dominica, on September 20. Hide Caption 12 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean People walk through the destruction in Roseau on September 20. Hide Caption 13 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean San Juan is shrouded in darkness after the hurricane knocked out power to the entire island of Puerto Rico. Hide Caption 14 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Power lines are scattered across a road in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on September 20. Hide Caption 15 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Residents move aluminum panels from an intersection in Humacao on September 20. Hide Caption 16 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Rescue vehicles are trapped under an awning in Humacao on September 20. Hide Caption 17 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Trees are toppled outside the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan on September 20. Hide Caption 18 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Members of a rescue team embrace as they wait to help in Humacao on September 20. Hide Caption 19 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A tree is damaged in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on September 20. Hide Caption 20 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Debris is strewn across a Fajardo street on September 20. Hide Caption 21 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A woman closes her property in Naguabo, Puerto Rico, hours before Maria's arrival. Hide Caption 22 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean People take shelter at Puerto Rico's Humacao Arena on Tuesday, September 19. Hide Caption 23 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Two girls play on cots at the Humacao Arena. Hide Caption 24 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Waves crash in San Juan as the hurricane neared Puerto Rico on September 19. Hide Caption 25 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean People pray in Humacao on September 19. Hide Caption 26 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A street is flooded in Pointe-a-Pitre, on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, on September 19. Hide Caption 27 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean People stand near debris at a restaurant in Le Carbet, Martinique, on September 19. Hide Caption 28 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean People in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, board up windows of a business on September 19. Hide Caption 29 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A boat is overturned off the shore of Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe, on September 19. Hide Caption 30 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Cars line up at a gas station in San Juan on September 19. Hide Caption 31 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean A motorist drives on the flooded waterfront in Fort-de-France, Martinique, on September 19. Hide Caption 32 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Floodwaters surround cars in Pointe-a-Pitre on September 19. Hide Caption 33 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Soldiers patrol a street in Marigot, St. Martin, as preparations were made for Maria on September 19. Hide Caption 34 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean People buy provisions in Petit-Bourg, Guadeloupe, as the hurricane approached on Monday, September 18. Hide Caption 35 of 36 Photos: Hurricane Maria slams the Caribbean Customers wait in line for power generators at a store in San Juan on September 18. Hide Caption 36 of 36

Federal officials have acknowledged the recovery hasn't been ideal.

"It's not nearly as fast as any of us want," John Rabin, acting regional administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, said at a press conference.

Puerto Ricans spend much of their time now waiting in line. On Sunday, one ATM line had several dozen people waiting two hours to withdraw a maximum of $40.

It's worse at gas stations: Hundreds of people camp out in their cars overnight, risking their safety so they don't lose their place in line. About 65% of gas stations were open on the island by Sunday, according to Puerto Rico's government.

The cash crunch is exacerbated because many businesses' credit card machines are still down, so they can only take hard currency.

"I'm overwhelmed," said Ana Ramos, tears streaming down her face as she waited in line for gas with only $20 in her hand. "I have to wait in line at the ATM because I don't have any more money."

Incomplete response

The federal government, initially led by FEMA, has tried to respond to the island's damage , which Rabin, the regional administrator, describes as "catastrophic." Three-star Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan was tapped by Trump earlier this week to spearhead recovery efforts.

There are over 10,000 federal workers on the island from dozens of federal departments and agencies. FEMA says it has reached all of Puerto Rico's 78 municipalities and delivered a million meals, along with 2 million liters of water, to 11 distribution centers on the island.

But herein lies the rub: A breakdown of communication still leaves some towns empty handed.

Betito Marquez, the mayor of Toa Baja, an impoverished town near San Juan, went to a FEMA distribution center at 5 p.m. on Friday. It was closed and he couldn't pick up supplies.

Mendez, the mayor of Aguadilla, told CNN he's been driving across the island , two hours each way, every morning to pick up FEMA aid in San Juan.

"They're not coming here, I'm going there," Mendez said.

President Trump has dismissed any problems in his administration's response as fake news. Instead, he points to longstanding issues, like Puerto Rico's debt debacle or its infrastructure problems

JUST WATCHED Puerto Rico & Washington: Alternate realities Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Puerto Rico & Washington: Alternate realities 01:26

The island's slow recovery may exacerbate another problem Trump isn't talking about: An exodus of people off Puerto Rico and to places like Texas and Florida.

Over 400,000 Puerto Ricans have moved to the mainland United States since 2004, according to the Pew Research Center. Puerto Rico now has 3.4 million residents.

Many left because Puerto Rico suffers from high unemployment, rising taxes and few job opportunities outside of tourism.

Eyleen Gonzalez, the young woman who said she doesn't want to live on the only island she's ever called home, said she had been on the fence about applying for college in the mainland.

Maria made up Gonzalez's decision.

"I want to leave for the rest of my life," said Gonzalez. "I don't want to know anything about Puerto Rico."