The My Safe Florida Home program opened for applications Monday morning, and millions of dollars are up for grabs to help homeowners make improvements that can lower their insurance premiums and protect against storms.

Two major weather systems are bringing heavy rain, high winds and more to Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on one side and the Caribbean on the other.

Georgia’s Big Peanut is back.

Southwest Florida is getting some advice from the Florida Panhandle as it moves ahead after Hurricane Ian.

Residents of hundreds of homes in the Florida Panhandle have been evacuated as a wildfire destroyed two houses and damaged 12 others, in an area that has spent the past three years recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Michael.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – More than two years after Hurricane Michael hit Florida’s Panhandle, members of the First United Methodist Church are back in their sanctuary in time for the holiday season. The Category 5 hurricane destroyed much of the church in October 2018, and then COVID-19 kept parishioners away. To avoid large gatherings, the church then began using the chapel and the Trinity Center, which had been repaired from hurricane damage. He said there is now a deep sense of belief that greater things are yet to come for the church, the city and the entire area. “It would have been very easy to throw in the towel, but the church did not,” Pridgeon said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Much of the blue tarps that covered the battered homes across Florida’s Panhandle are gone, as the scars from Hurricane Michael two years ago begin to fade. And the state added a mental health coordinator as a component in its disaster recovery efforts. In addition to expanding mental health services, the new funding will be used to build playgrounds and rebuild preschools still awaiting help. Hurricane Michael damaged an estimated 60,000 homes. “The Florida Education Association has long called on the governor and lawmakers to fully invest in mental health professionals for our public school students,” Spar said.

ATLANTA, Ga. – Georgia’s governor and agriculture commissioner on Wednesday announced that $347 million in federal disaster relief funding would soon be available to farmers, nearly a year and a half after Hurricane Michael caused billions of dollars in damage to southwest Georgia. Producers in Georgia’s timber, dairy, beef, poultry, fruit and vegetable and pecan industries are eligible to apply, said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black. Hurricane Michael became one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the U.S., making landfall in Florida in October 2018 before thrashing Georgia — especially the southwest corner of the state — with strong winds and heavy rains. Estimates from the University of Georgia place total agricultural losses from the storm in Georgia at more than $2.5 billion. “The recovery process is far from over, but together, we will stand with those still reeling from Hurricane Michael's impact and continue to support them on the road to recovery,” said Republican Gov.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Floridians in the Panhandle and Big Bend, including those in areas hit by Hurricane Michael last year, could see impacts this weekend from Tropical Storm Nestor. The storm won't have the 162 mph sustained winds that Hurricane Michael brought on shore near Mexico Beach on Oct. 10, 2018. But tropical-storm force winds can still cause minor damage, especially to property still unrepaired from Michael. "There is no such thing as just a tropical storm," Wool said. A tropical-storm warning was in effect Friday from Navarre to Yankeetown.

"The potential tropical system in the Gulf is expected to bring dangerous storm surge along Florida's entire gulf coast," the state division tweeted Thursday. "Please prepare for heavy rainfall, gusty winds, isolated tornadoes and coastal flooding." The potential tropical system in the Gulf is expected to bring dangerous storm surge along portions of Florida's Gulf Coast. Please prepare for heavy rainfall, gusty winds, isolated tornadoes and coastal flooding. FL Division of Emergency Management (@FLSERT) October 17, 2019The tweet came as the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning from the border of Mississippi and Alabama to the Ochlockonee River in Florida and a tropical storm watch from the Ochlockonee River to Yankeetown.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - When Hurricane Dorian took a turn last month and avoided landfall in Florida, it largely spared the states insurance industry from getting hit with claims. Only 5,764 claims from Hurricane Dorian had been filed in Florida as of Oct. 4, with estimated insured losses at $19 million, according to information posted on the state Office of Insurance Regulation. By comparison, Hurricane Michael, which devastated parts of Northwest Florida last year, has generated about 150,000 claims and $7.16 billion in estimated insured losses. Hurricane Dorian flattened parts of the Bahamas and threatened Florida before staying off the states East Coast. Of the 5,764 claims filed, 3,113 involved residential property, the Office of Insurance Regulation numbers show.

It's been one year since Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle. It made landfall on Oct. 10, 2018, as a Category 5 storm -- blamed for 49 deaths in Florida with estimated insured losses now... Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

VIDEO: Jennifer Ready reports on the rebuilding efforts at Tyndall Air Force Base one year after Hurricane Michael.

Up the road, heaps of rotting logs lay bare the scars that Hurricane Michael left last October when it ploughed through the region. Less than a fifth of the 2.8 million acres (1.1 million hectares) of timberland destroyed by Hurricane Michael have been salvaged. Across the road from the Leonards, Michael Eldridge isn't expecting any help soon as he continues to grapple with the devastation Michael wrought across his 360 acres (145 hectares). For some farmers, the new math doesn't add up, according to Alan Shelby, the executive vice president of the Florida Forestry Association. "Hurricane Michael was a once-in-a-generation kind of thing.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Just one year ago, a Category 5 hurricane smashed into Mexico Beach only 230 miles west of Jacksonville. Today, Mexico Beach is trying to rebuild, and federal financial assistance is trickling in, but recovery is still years away. Before Michael, only three Category 5 hurricanes had hit the United States. On September 3, 1935, an unnamed major hurricane went through the Southern Keys, killing 100s. We are thankful that Hurricane Michael was well forecasted and many folks left before Michael hit Mexico Beach.

The First Presbyterian Church was damaged by Hurricane Michael on October 13, 2018 in Blountstown, Florida. The Capitol News Service revisited the small city of Blountstown to speak with residents and city officials about how recovery has progressed. Business owners Edwin and Lynn Strawn rode out the hurricane in their home. "Everybody in this community helped everybody in this community," Lynn Strawn said. "You can drive anywhere and see blue tarps, tarps that are coming off of houses, houses that have not been repaired," Lynn Strawn said.

October is a deadly hurricane month for Florida and makes up a secondary seasonal maximum after Sept. 10. Ten major hurricanes hit Florida since the mid-1850s, 33 hurricanes in total during the month of October including Category 5 Hurricane Michael in 2018. Florida becomes the target this month when cold fronts direct tropical systems toward the eastern Gulf Coast. Some coastal areas are running 2F above normal along the northern coast where Hurricane Michael struck. Water in the eastern Gulf had been about 2-4F above average when Hurricane Michael tracked through the 84 surf.

This was a big story of the day for a brief period of time, said Ron Sachs, CEO of Tallahassee-based Sachs Media Group who helped organize Rebuild 850. Rebuild 850 leaders said Thursday they appreciated Grahams work, but they dont want her exit to be a distraction. This is not a partisan organization, said Rebuild 850 Co-Chairman Will Weatherford, a former Republican House speaker from Wesley Chapel. Sachs said he had discussed with Graham in August her use of Twitter and the intent of Rebuild 850 to be non-partisan. Anyone wishing to make a donation to Rebuild 850 can do so at Rebuild850.org.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - As state lawmakers return to the Florida Capitol for the first round of committee weeks, one of the most pressing issues is hurricane recovery, especially from Hurricane Michael. Effects of the storm, which hit nearly a year ago, are still being felt in the Panhandle. In many ways, the Panhandle has lived up to its nickname, "The Forgotten Coast." A survey conducted this summer found 1 in 3 Floridians aren't even aware the storm hit in 2018. Legislators also are looking at ways to speed up insurance claims and prevent contractors from overcharging for storm repairs.

NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. - A new hurricane-resistant construction technology called Insulated Concrete Form, or ICF, is catching on in Northeast Florida. After Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle in October, an image showed one house that was left standing on Mexico Beach. Mark Mantarro rode out Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and decided to build his Neptune Beach home with ICF five years ago. ICF adds about 30% to the cost of construction, but Mantarro believes it is worth it. You should put some thought into it, said Johnson, who is currently building Tony Wandersons house on Ponte Vedra Beach.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Over the past 100 years, only 25 hurricanes with sustained winds of 111 mph or above -- the threshold of a major hurricane -- have reached Florida. Some of these Category 3, 4, or 5 storms you'll likely remember: Andrew, Charlie, Jean, Wilma and last year's Hurricane Michael. Irma, which some people in Northeast Florida are still recovering from, was one of 11 Category 4 storms to reach Florida since 1919. Of these 25 major storms to hit the state in the last century, 44% were in the last 25 years. Major hurricanes (Category 3 or above) over the last 50 yearsCopyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

Crews repair downed power lines in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Michael, in October 2018. HOLLYWOOD HILLS, Fla. - Florida has launched a website to monitor generators in nursing homes and long-term care facilities as Hurricane Dorian gets closer. The state demanded safety improvements after 12 people died when Hurricane Irma knocked out power at a nursing home in 2017. The facilities must have an emergency power plan to make sure air conditioners keep temperatures under 81 degrees. At 105 mph, Dorian is the strongest storm of the Atlantic hurricane season so far.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Two Florida State University professors have received funding to examine how Hurricane Michael impacted birth outcomes in the Florida Panhandle as a result of infrastructure damage and exposure to carbon monoxide. The study will investigate exposure to carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that during pregnancy has been associated with fetal deaths and other neurological complications. It will also explore health-care access after the storm and birth outcomes in areas that were impacted by Michael. A variety of factors, stress related to the mental problems from coping with a severe disaster and decreased access to healthcare," Uejio said. The goal of the research is to show the importance of getting health care facilities back up and running after disasters along with thinking more about generator safety and helping people understand the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Nine months ago, Rodrick Fagiole was inside Gulf Correctional Institution when Hurricane Michael blew the roof off of the Panhandle prison. The devastation from Michael was a major blow to the states entire prison system, which has a large concentration of prisons in North Florida. With storms already brewing off of Floridas Gulf Coast, state officials say they are ready for this years hurricane season. Keppler said all state prisons have backup generators in case of power outages. Corrections officials have conducted exercises and developed contingency plans to make sure they are ready for a natural disaster, he added.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - After the proposal received unanimous approval from the House and Senate, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill (HB 593) designed to help state colleges that lose enrollment because of hurricanes. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, and Sen. George Gainer, R-Panama City, was filed after Hurricane Michael devastated parts of Northwest Florida in October. Under the measure, state colleges that sustain enrollment decreases of more than 10 percent because of hurricanes will be able to waive out-of-state fees for three years. The bill is aimed at helping colleges recruit new students by waiving the higher fees ordinarily charged to people who live outside Florida.