Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) has been designated as the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center in coordination with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. The Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center at BMS will serve as a home base for recovery efforts and a major distribution center in the aftermath of the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene that has greatly affected many Tennessee counties.
Bristol Motor Speedway will serve as a major donation and collection site, provide workspace for the logistics and search and rescue teams in a central staging area, and also house a regional disaster relief hotline.
The regional disaster relief hotline number of 423-830-2696 also will be available for those who need assistance to call starting Thursday, Oct. 3 at 8 a.m.
The donation center also will open Thursday at 8 a.m. (ET) and will operate with daily hours from 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. The primary location for the collection and distribution center will be in the BMS South Building at BMS Entrance 2 (South) off Volunteer Parkway. Members of the public are encouraged to make donations of bottled water, non-perishable food, baby supplies and personal hygiene products. An evolving list of other donation centers are available on the TEMA website.
“Our communities, friends and loved ones are hurting, and we stand ready to assist in any way that we possibly can,” said Jerry Caldwell, president and general manager, Bristol Motor Speedway. “We are proud to be a part of this relief and recovery effort and to utilize our facility as a resource and distribution center.”
As part of the plan, BMS Hospitality Village, Medallion Campground and also the BMS Helipad will be utilized in operations and housing approved search and rescue units.
On Friday, Sept. 26, flash flooding began ravaging parts of Unicoi, Carter, Washington, Johnson and Greene counties in Tennessee. There have been multiple confirmed deaths in this region and many more people are still missing. Residents in those areas are still without power and running water, and major highways and roads continue to be closed.
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