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Hurricane Michael could push this season’s toxic red tide inland, exposing more people to the dangerous health effects of a record algae bloom that has bedeviled much of Florida’s coast. The hurricane is expected to generate a storm surge as great as 14 feet along parts of the Florida Panhandle, where it made landfall early Wednesday afternoon. That part of the coast that has seen some of the worst concentrations this year of red tide, a variety of algae that kills fish and releases toxins that cause respiratory symptoms in humans similar to tear gas. (Flavelle, 10/10)

For the second time in a month, Georgia health officials are preparing to assist people affected by a major hurricane. But Hurricane Michael, which was pounding the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, threatens to inflict broader damage in Georgia than did Hurricane Florence, which hit mainly the Carolinas a month ago. (Miller and Dyer, 10/10)

There's never a good time for a hurricane. But if you're a healthcare provider, October is a particularly bad time. October marks the beginning of the fourth quarter for companies whose fiscal years run from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. It's typically a good quarter financially because many patients have met their health insurance deductibles and flock to providers for elective procedures they wouldn't have gotten earlier in the year. (Bannow, 10/10)