PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Harry Brock saw the devastation that Hurricane Dorian brought to the Bahamas but says he will ride out the storm in his Port St. Lucie home.
Even after seeing what Hurricane Andrew did to Florida in 1992, he still feels he is as ready as he can be.
"I'm prepared for this, I've got my children taken care of ... we're ready for this," Brock told CNN as winds began to whip his neighborhood. "Everything's pulled in the garage, we've got our storm shutters up, my daughter's got hers up, my son's got his up."
Brock is one of millions of residents in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina who are or will be under mandatory evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Dorian.
All of them face a wrenching decision: to flee the approaching storm or face potential danger by hunkering down at home.
And as Hurricane Dorian creeps westward in an unpredictable path, with coastal residents monitoring every minor change in direction, that decision is becoming harder and harder.
As Monday dawned in the Bahamas, revealing "catastrophic" hurricane damage, the potential consequences of their choice became starker.
"All we can do is pray for our coastline and the state of Florida and the Carolinas and the Georgias," Brock told CNN. "It just tore my heart up to see what's happening (in the Bahamas)."
Brock is not alone in deciding to ride out the storm in Port St. Lucie, where Dorian may strike Tuesday unless it veers north. Like much of Florida's Atlantic coast, the city of about 170,000 people is under a hurricane warning.
Samir Aarass, a fellow Port St. Lucie resident, says he has no choice.
"I don't have anywhere else to go so I'm going to stay here. I have my house in Port St Lucie, so I don't want to lose it," he told CNN. "Boarded it up. Cat, family, everyone's okay. So I'm just going to stick it out."
For many, it's a difficult choice
To stay or go? It's a choice many coastal residents in the Southeast US will have to make in the coming hours.
"If you are ordered to evacuate, you need to do that," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told residents Monday morning. "From Palm Beach County all the way up to ... the Florida-Georgia border, all those coastal counties have issued evacuation orders. And its important that residents heed those calls," he said.
"Get out now while you have time, while there's fuel available and you'll be safe on the roads."
But experts say some residents don't want the hassle of loading their car and evacuating, while others may have a false sense of security or not realize they live in an evacuation zone.
Indian River County Major Eric Flowers said authorities are concerned about residents who refuse to evacuate. If those people encounter an emergency, first responders will not be able to help them if the storm gets too strong, he said.
Further north in Jacksonville, 85-year-old Adella Williams was taking no chances.
The Jacksonville resident told CNN she is going to a shelter at the Landmark Middle School, where she will ride out the storm. It will be her third year in a row doing so.
While she has never had any damage to her home from storms, Williams said she does not want to risk her life.
Florida mandatory evacuations:
parts of St. Lucie County
Indian River County
St. Johns County, including the entire city of St. Augustine
Parts of Brevard County, including barrier islands, Merritt Island and the Kennedy Space Center
Parts of Palm Beach County, including the Jupiter Inlet and other surge-vulnerable areas along the Intracoastal Waterway
Parts of Martin County, including barrier islands and Sewall's Point
Parts of Nassau County
Parts of Duval County
Parts of Flagler County
Coastal areas of Volusia County
Parts of Osceola County, including the Good Samaritan Village in Kissimmee
In many of these counties the evacuations specifically mention those living in low-lying areas, RV parks and mobile homes.
Georgia mandatory evacuations:
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has ordered mandatory evacuations from areas east of Interstate 95 in the following counties: Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty, and McIntosh.
South Carolina mandatory evacuations
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has issued evacuation orders for parts of Jasper County, all of Beaufort County, parts of Colleton County, all of Charleston County, parts of Berkeley County, parts of Dorchester County, parts of Georgetown County and parts of Horry County.
