(CNN) As Hurricane Irma hammered the Florida Keys, John Hines huddled in his Key West home while blinding rains and howling winds raged outside.

Hines lives in a mandatory evacuation area but decided not to leave despite the governor's plea to 6.3 million Florida residents to flee north.

"It's going from crappy to worse," Hines said by phone early Sunday as winds whistled loudly in the background.

"All the interior doors are starting to rattle now, sounds like someone is knocking on the front door. The winds are picking up. It's only going to get worse."

In Key Largo, David DeBrule posted a Facebook Live video showing palm trees bent almost in half. "This is bad," said DeBrule, who decided not to evacuate.

"We had a family business here for over 40 years and won't leave our community," he said.

Hines and DeBrule are among a hardy -- some might day foolhardy -- band of South Florida and Gulf coast residents who defied mandatory evacuation orders and have stayed home to face whatever Irma brings.

Hines believes he's safe in his home, a concrete building with storm shutters.

"I have an emotional attachment to Key West," he said. " All my family's ashes are in Key West, so I'm staying."

And if there's utter devastation, he said, he prefers to be at home, on this side of the bridge to the mainland in case it collapses.

'I felt safe in our home'

Other Floridians have stayed because they want to protect their livelihoods.

"Number one, we stayed because I felt safe in our home. It's a concrete structure on stilts with a concrete roof," said Amy Denius, who lives in Islamorada.

"And my husband is a fisherman. Our boat is our life and we need to be here to protect it after the storm so we have a livelihood. "

Kristin Bell decided to heed the warnings and leave her home in St. Pete Beach and head inland to St Petersburg, four miles away. She drained her pool to minimize flooding and took off with her photo albums, her computer hard drives, two Labrador retrievers and some cats.

Bell is staying at a friend's house with their children and 20 pets between them -- all cats and dogs. A day before Irma hit, she visited a deserted beach a mile from her house and marveled at its white sand and endless blue waters.

"It was empty. There was no one in sight on such a beautiful day when it's normally packed," she said. "It was absolutely magical. I was wondering what it would like when I get back."

Bell posted a video on Instagram of the deceptively calm beach a day before Irma struck.

'We need everybody's prayers'

Peggy Monahan, who lives in Fort Pierce, stayed behind to take care of her family farm. She grows citrus fruits and raises cattle on her farmland, which has been in her family for generations, she said.

Monahan is sheltered at her home about 10 miles from the Atlantic coast, along with several neighbors.

"We need everybody's prayers -- this storm seems very bad," she told CNN's Zain Asher. "We are close to harvesting our crops, and we need to be here to stick the trees back on the ground if they are blown up."

Monahan also said she wants to ensure her cows deliver their calves safely.

"I don't have the luxury of leaving. ... I'm prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. I hope my house will hold up," she said.

Fort Pierce, about 60 miles north of West Palm Beach, was under mandatory evacuation orders for people living in mobile homes and low-lying regions prone to flooding.

Authorities have gone door to door in Florida warning residents to leave or take shelter .

'I've tried to get some sleep but I can't'

Joni Emmanuel said she didn't leave her house in Bal Harbour, north of Miami Beach, because her boyfriend, who's 92, wanted to stay behind.

"It didn't seem humane to leave him alone," said Emmanuel, who declined to give her age. "So I stayed to help him stay safe."

Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Children clean a dirty mattress from a flooded home in Immokalee, Florida, on Thursday, September 14. Hurricane Irma laid waste to beautiful Caribbean islands and caused historic destruction across Florida. The cleanup will take weeks; recovery will take months. Hide Caption 1 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida On September 14, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and first lady Melania Trump hand out food to people impacted by Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida. Hide Caption 2 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Debris litters the area around a group of homes in the Florida Keys on Wednesday, September 13. Hide Caption 3 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Lake County jail inmates fill sandbags in Astor, Florida, on September 13. Hide Caption 4 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A classic Volkswagen sits in floodwaters September 13 in Middleburg, Florida. Flooding from the Black Creek topped the previous high-water mark by about 7 feet. Hide Caption 5 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida James Wade checks for water-damaged items as floodwaters recede in Middleburg on September 13. Hide Caption 6 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Floodwaters surround vehicles in Callahan, Florida, on Tuesday, September 12. Hide Caption 7 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken from a cage as he gathers belongings from his flooded house in Bonita Springs, Florida, on September 12. Hide Caption 8 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Joseph Dupuis III stacks boxes off the floor in his parents' water-logged apartment in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 12. Hide Caption 9 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Motorists in Estero, Florida, fill gas cans September 12, moments before police shut the station down because of a curfew. Hide Caption 10 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Mike Gilbert and his daughter Brooke embrace in front of a relative's destroyed condominium building in the Florida Keys on September 12. Hide Caption 11 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Members of the US Coast Guard operate in floodwaters during rescue missions in Hastings, Florida, on September 12. Hide Caption 12 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Waist-deep in floodwater, Shelly Hughes gets her first look at the inside of her camper in Arcadia, Florida, on September 12. Hide Caption 13 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 11. Hide Caption 14 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Richard Shieldhouse maneuvers through storm-surge floodwaters in Jacksonville on September 11. Hide Caption 15 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Mario Valentine sits in his badly damaged home in Immokalee on September 11. Hide Caption 16 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Boats are partially submerged in Key Largo, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 17 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Chris Stokes works in the mud as he helps clean up damage to his father's convenience store in Everglades City, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 18 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Ashley Tomberg drags a tree branch from the roof of a neighbor's house in Gainesville, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 19 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Floodwaters inundate a car in Jacksonville on September 11. Hide Caption 20 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A crocodile appears at the Dinner Key Marina in Miami on September 11. Hide Caption 21 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida John Duke tries to salvage his flooded vehicle in Jacksonville on September 11. Hide Caption 22 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A van sits in a sinkhole that opened up in Winter Springs, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 23 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People check out floodwaters at Jacksonville's Memorial Park on September 11. Hide Caption 24 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Kelly McClenthen and her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison, walk through floodwaters in Bonita Springs on September 11. Hide Caption 25 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A truck drives through a flooded street in Key Largo on September 11. Hide Caption 26 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A man walks by damage in Palm Shores, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 27 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Catharine Taylor Woods cleans up a broken awning outside her building in Wauchula, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 28 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida The roof of a home is damaged in Marco Island, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 29 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Rick Freedman checks damage to his neighbor's home in Marco Island on September 11. Hide Caption 30 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Boats are partially submerged in a marina in downtown Miami on September 11. Hide Caption 31 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People step out of their flooded home in Fort Myers, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 32 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A felled tree blocks a street in downtown Miami on September 11. Hide Caption 33 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Irma damaged this gas station roof in Bonita Springs. Hide Caption 34 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Michele Snelling sleeps on couch cushions next to her 4-month-old daughter, Lauryn, at a middle school in St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 11. The school was filled with evacuees. Hide Caption 35 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Hotel guests navigate a dark stairwell after they lost power in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hide Caption 36 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People in Cape Coral, Florida, tend to a car that flipped over during Hurricane Irma on Sunday, September 10. Hide Caption 37 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A manatee lies stranded September 10 after waters receded during Irma's approach in Manatee County, Florida. Hide Caption 38 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida High winds split this large tree in half in Fort Lauderdale. Hide Caption 39 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida An American flag is torn as Irma passes through Naples on September 10. Hide Caption 40 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A sheriff's deputy walks through a shelter in Naples after the power went out on September 10. Hide Caption 41 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A police officer walks over debris after a tornado touched down in Palm Bay, Florida, on September 10. Hide Caption 42 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Yaya Lopez holds her fiance, Howard Lopez, while they sleep in a middle-school hallway in St. Petersburg on September 10. Hide Caption 43 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Geoff Rutland, a local volunteer from Crossing Jordan Church, helps other residents get ice from a vending machine in Tampa, Florida, on September 10. Hide Caption 44 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida PJ Pike checks on his boat and one belonging to a friend in Fort Myers. Both were sitting in mud at their moorings due to an unusually low tide on September 10. Hide Caption 45 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People walk past a building in Miami where the roof was blown off by Hurricane Irma on September 10. Hide Caption 46 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida An abandoned car sits in floodwaters during a storm surge in Fort Lauderdale on September 10. Hide Caption 47 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Fallen trees block a parking lot in Fort Lauderdale on September 10. Hide Caption 48 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Sailboats moored near Watson Island ride out the winds and waves on September 10. Hide Caption 49 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Members of the Blinckman family use their personal devices in a stairwell utility closet as Hurricane Irma went over Key West, Florida, on September 10. Hide Caption 50 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Evacuees watch the weather from a shelter in Naples on September 10. Hide Caption 51 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Heavy winds and rain blow through Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 52 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel fights fierce winds and flooded streets while reporting in Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 53 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A man records the gusty winds going through downtown Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 54 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A tree lies on a pickup truck after being knocked down by the high winds in Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 55 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Hotel guests eat breakfast by lamplight after the Courtyard Marriott was left without power in Fort Lauderdale on September 10. Hide Caption 56 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Part of this crane tower collapsed in Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 57 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People sit in the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center as Irma approached Miami on Saturday, September 9. See Hurricane Irma's impact on the Caribbean Hide Caption 58 of 58

She's scared, she said, but they've stocked up on food, water, medication, batteries, flashlights and cell phone chargers.

"We are on the first floor, and we are prepared to go to a higher level if we see any waters rising," she said Saturday.

In Fort Myers on the Gulf coast, where storm-surge warnings were in effect, Evanson Ngai stayed up all night, tracking the hurricane.

"I've tried to get some sleep but I can't. Just the nervousness, trying to keep an eye on it to see if its track will change," he said Sunday morning.

Ngai said Fort Myers was already being buffeted by heavy winds. He'd moved everything away from the windows, and was crouching in his bathtub.