Environment

The new Echo River Solar Energy Center in Suwannee County is part of FPL’s push to decrease carbon emissions by reducing the dependency on oil.

While festive looking, the ornamental plant coral ardisia, also known as the Christmas berry, is an invasive plant species spreading across Florida and into the South. Volunteers are now trying to control the spread before it becomes a full-blown outbreak.

Officials say 16 people died in Florida because of Hurricane Michael, doubling the numbers of deaths in the state The Associated Press had previously attributed to last week's storm.

Hurricane Michael was the most powerful storm to make landfall in the continental U.S. in more than 26 years. The now tropical storm is moving over Georgia on its way to the Carolinas.

Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle with terrifying winds of 155 mph Wednesday, splintering homes and submerging neighborhoods before continuing its destructive charge inland across the Southeast. It was the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in nearly 50 years and at least one death was reported during its passage.

Hurricane Michael heads for Steinhatchee, a town that was ravaged by Hurricane Hermine only two years ago. The local marinas prepare hastily while residents lie low.

With Hurricane Michael fast approaching, residents of Horseshoe Beach are evacuating. Most are hoping to avoid a repeat of 2016 when Hurricane Hermine devastated the city.