CEDAR KEY, Fla. — A mandatory evacuation went into effect on Cedar Key as of 4 p.m., but not everyone is leaving as Hurricane Idalia looms off the coast.
Channel 9 reporter Shannon Butler said city officials estimate that 100 of the island’s 800 weekday residents decided to weather the storm at home.
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2023) Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Riggs grabs some essentials at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville Commissary, Aug. 28 prior to Tropical Storm Idalia arriving in the Jacksonville area. (U.S. Navy photo by Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Scotty Coombs/Released) (NAS Jacksonvill/Facebook)
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2023) Culinary Specialist (CS) 2nd Class Juan Rios shovels sand as CS2 Peter Angelade holds the sandbags open to fill at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Aug. 28. The station has 6,000 bags ready to be filled to help prevent water intrusion from Hurricane Idalia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Riggs/Released)
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2023) Culinary Specialist (CS) 2nd Class Juan Rios shovels sand as CS2 Peter Angelade holds the sandbags open to fill at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Aug. 28. The station has 6,000 bags ready to be filled to help prevent water intrusion from Hurricane Idalia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Riggs/Released)
Hurricane Idalia preps PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Antonio Floyd places sandbags in a pickup truck at the Helen S. Howarth Community Park ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: William Brouard places sandbags at the door to his IRB Creamery before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Loemys Rivera-Valentin and her children D'Angelo Gabriel Abreu-Suarez (C) and Zaelys Loemys Robles-Rivera fill sandbags at the Helen S. Howarth Community Park ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: (L-R) Steve Leitgeb and Michelle Fedeles place protective shutters over the openings at Coco's Crush Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Workers place protective plywood over the openings at Toucan's Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Workers place protective plywood over the openings at Toucan's Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: A grocery store's water section is almost bare as people stock up ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps TAMPA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 28: Brooke Painter loads personal items into a van as she and her family evacuate their vacation rental ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 28, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. Tropical Storm Idalia is nearing hurricane strength and is forecast to become a hurricane as it tracks toward the Gulf Coast of Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps CLEARWATER BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Workers place protective plywood over the openings at Toucan's Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Idalia preps PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA - AUGUST 29: Vinell Chambers (L) and Antonio Floyd fill sandbags at the Helen S. Howarth Community Park ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Tropical Weather Garry Sears, 78, collects fallen pecans from his pecan tree on Monday, Aug 28, 2023, near his collectible 1953 Ford sedan which he has elevated to keep out of storm surge. Sears, who said he had four inches of water in his Florida room during Tropical Storm Eta, in November 2020, is anticipating as much surge from Tropical Storm Idalia which intensified early Monday and is expected to become a major hurricane before it reaches Florida's Gulf coast. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP) (Douglas R. Clifford/AP)
Tropical Weather Motorists wait in line during sandbag distribution, ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia's arrival, at MacFarlane Park in Tampa, Fla., Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. (Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via AP) (Ivy Ceballo/AP)
Orlovista flooding The Orlovista community in Orange County is also bracing for whatever Idalia may bring. (wftv.com)
Tropical Weather Members of the Tampa, Fla., Parks and Recreation Dept., help residents with sandbags Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Tropical Storm Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (Chris O'Meara)
Tropical Weather Members of the Tampa Parks and Recreation Dept., help residents with sandbags Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Residents along Florida's gulf coast are making preparations for the effects of Tropical Storm Idalia. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (Chris O'Meara)
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Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.
