Chad Bennett, who is a video editor by trade, has described scenes of desperation as people in Florida prepare for the deadly storm.
Accepting it would be too late for him to leave now, he said: “My main concern was that my wife and baby were safe.
“I had to stay for work and I was like ‘get out and go now, don’t wait for me’.”
Mr Bennett has described how he has seen locals fighting over pieces of wood used to board up homes, at his local hardware store.
He said: “People have been honking horns.
“People are getting angry because they are beginning to stress and get scared about what is going to potentially happen.
“There are a lot of people still rushing to the supermarket at the last minute.
“Water is coming off the shelves [after being bought]…they’ve had water come in every couple of days and there are just people waiting with shopping carts, lined up to go get their water.”
The video editor, who originally hails from New Zealand, also claimed “petrol is pretty much running dry” as he has seen queues of cars at petrol stations and trying to leave Florida.
Mr Bennett has been putting up storm shutters, covering glass windows with plywood and unplugging electronic equipment at his house, which is about 5km from the beach.
His wife Carrie and daughter Indiana are expected to stay in South Carolina with her family until the hurricane has passed.
Emergency services in Florida have warned residents they will stop answering to calls once Hurricane Irma’s deadly winds hit the state.
Pasco County public safety administrator Kevin Guthrie said: “If you have a heart attack, if you have a stroke, if you have some type of medical emergency, we will not come and help you.
“The emergency management standard is that once tropical storm force-winds get to 40 or 45 mph and are sustained for one minute or longer, your emergency services department ceases to respond to calls for service.
“We are asking people to go to a loved one’s house, evacuate the area, heed our warnings.”
The county is located in one of the areas expected to be hit by Hurricane Irma’s devastating force.