This was the moment electricity came back on at a Puerto Rico school that had been without lighting for 112 days since Hurricane Maria struck the Caribbean island.

Academia Bautista de Puerto Nuevo, in San Juan, posted a video on Facebook of schoolchildren and staff alike screaming in delight as the lights turned back on at their school. The camera looks into classrooms where pupils could be seen jumping up and down with joy and teachers can also be seen ringing bells.

The school, a private Baptist academy for 1,100 pupils up to the age of 12, wrote on 11 January: "After 112 days, THE LIGHT IS BACK! Indisputable joy from all of us who are part of the ABPN. We are grateful to all the parents, students and staff who have stayed with us and continued to support us in this situation."

Puerto Rico was hit hard by Hurricane Maria, with the entire island losing power on 20 September when the storm made landfall. By 29 December, just 55% of the island had its power restored, according to the governor's office.

The official death toll stands at 64, although there are fears the real number of hurricane-related deaths could be as high as 1,000. The island's 3.4 million residents struggled with lack of food, clean drinking water and fuel shortages for weeks after the hurricane hit.

The US Army Corps of Engineers, participating in the recovery efforts, said this week that 2,191,310 cubic yards of debris had been removed to date – the equivalent of 672 Olympic-sized swimming pools – while it is estimated that the damages could cost the US government around $90bn (£69bn).

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