Hurricane Milton hit the southeast U.S. state of Florida overnight with strong winds, destructive tornadoes and heavy rain, leaving at least 17 dead and millions of people without power as of Friday.
Milton made its landfall along the west-central coast of Florida on Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm and weakened to Category 1 as it plowed quickly across central Florida.
Although Orlando Airport and Tampa Airport, which were temporarily closed due to the hurricane, announced the resumption of operations on Thursday, nearly 300 flights were still canceled at both airports that day.
On the way from Orlando Airport to Florida's west coast, highways filled with heavily congested traffic as residents who had evacuated rushed back home, turning a drive that typically takes just an hour into an over five-hour journey.
The clean-up operation after Milton for local residents in Florida could take many weeks or months, as the state was one of many hit by Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago. In a community on the state's west coast, a coffee shop owner was cleaning up her shop.
"The shop flooded. This whole building actually went up flooding like six inches of water, which is crazy," said Juliet, owner of the shop.
Another thorny issue for local residents is the shortage of gas.
"The company told us if we tried reaching out to ask when we're going to get gas, then they're not going to send our gas, and we have to request it when they can. Let's say it's Friday, and they told us it would come Tuesday, and then it still doesn't show up," said the manager of a local gas station.
Hurricane Milton impacts millions across Florida
Hurricane Milton impacts millions across Florida
China will increase national scholarships and financial assistance for college students, the Ministry of Finance said on Saturday.
The Ministry of Finance will double quotas for national scholarships, increase the amount of scholarships for outstanding college students, raise the level of financial assistance granted to college students in need, and step up support for national student loan borrowers this year, Vice Minister of Finance Guo Tingting told reporters at a press conference in Beijing.
"The annual national scholarship quota for undergraduate and junior college students will be raised from 60,000 to 120,000, while the quotas for master's students and doctoral students will be raised from 35,000 to 70,000 and from 10,000 to 20,000, respectively," Guo said.
"The amount of national scholarship for each undergraduate and junior college student will be increased from 8,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan per year, and the amount of national encouragement scholarship for each undergraduate and junior college student will be raised from 5,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan per year," she said.
"The average amount of national grants will be hiked from 3,300 yuan per year to 3,700 yuan per year for each undergraduate and junior college student starting from autumn semester 2024," according to Guo.
"The maximum loan amount for undergraduate and junior college students will rise from 16,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan per year, and that for graduate students will rise from 20,000 yuan to 25,000 yuan per year. The interest rate will be reduced to 70 basis points lower than the loan prime rate of the same grade in the same period," Guo said.
China will also raise the amount of academic scholarships for graduate students in 2025, increase national grants for ordinary high school students, and expand the range and amount of national grants for secondary vocational school students, Guo added.
China to increase financial support for college students
