The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to evacuate Florida ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton this week.
The hurricane – the second to hit the southeast of the United States within two weeks – increased to a Category 4 early Monday as it heads toward Orlando and Tampa Bay – an area still reeling from Hurricane Helene last month.
With Hurricane Milton expected to make landfall in Florida Wednesday, millions of residents on the state’s west coast have been warned to evacuate ahead of ‘life-threatening’ nine-foot-high storm surges and winds of up to 156mph barreling in.
The Buccaneers have heeded warnings and are set to flee from the state Tuesday ahead of their Week 6 NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at the weekend, according to Adam Schefter.
The franchise will make the trip to Louisiana days ahead of Sunday’s matchup in order to avoid a flight on Saturday, which could be affected by the devastating destruction Milton could wreak.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to evacuate Florida ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton
The Bucs (pictured in white) will relocate to New Orleans ahead of the game against the Saints
Tampa Bay chiefs managed to secure the necessary hotel rooms in The Big Easy to ensure their players and staff could safely make the journey and stay in the city ahead of time.
Milton’s expected arrival comes just week after millions across the USA felt the devastating and catastrophic effects of Hurricane Helene.
Helene brought record storm surges to the southeastern states, killing 230 people while obliterating several small towns in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Meteorologists have warned that Milton could be even worse.
The NFL community rallied around the victims of Helene last week, with various factions of the league donating over $8million.
Tampa Bay’s quarterback Baker Mayfield joined forces with his Falcons counterpart Kirk Cousins to make a combined donation of $100million to Team Rubicon – a veteran-led humanitarian organization – to help victims of the hurricane ahead of their game in Atlanta last Thursday.
Other donors include Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who gave $2 million to World Central Kitchen through his foundation for Georgians affected by the storm.
Hurricane Milton is set to strike Florida by Wednesday morning, meteorologists have warned
The NFL community, including Falcons owner Arthur Blank, donated $8million to Helene relief
David Tepper and his wife Nicole, the billionaire owners of the Carolina Panthers , gave $3 million in hurricane relief to recovery efforts in both North and South Carolina.
Both the Houston Texans and the Glazer family, which owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United , have each pledged $1 million.
‘Our hearts go out to all of those impacted by Hurricane Helene, and the NFL is committed to doing our part to help the affected communities recover,’ NFL Vice President of Philanthropy and Executive Director of the NFL Foundation Alexia Gallagher said in a statement.
‘The NFL is privileged to play a vital role in communities across the country, and we are proud to work with the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to provide critical resources and support to those in need.’
