Join NASCAR and Nexstar in supporting hurricane recovery

(NEXSTAR) – After Hurricane Helene killed at least 230 people, flooding communities as it churned north over Florida and to the Appalachian Mountains, Nexstar and NASCAR are teaming up to help those affected .

In North Carolina, over 130,000 people had no power as of Monday as roughly 1,700 National Guard members joined local search-and-rescue teams looking for the missing.

Nexstar, the parent company of this website, and NASCAR are working together to get donations to those who need them, especially in North Carolina’s mountain regions, using the Charlotte Motor Speedway as the main drop-off point.

Donations of items such as canned food, bottled water, dry goods, adult and baby hygiene items, first-aid, camping gear and more can be dropped off every Wednesday in October at the Charlotte Motor Speedway from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you don’t live near Charlotte but would like to join the ongoing recovery efforts, you can do so using Nexstar’s official fundraising site .

Estimates show that the damage from Helene, which devastated several southeastern states, could top $160 billion, according to The Hill .

Electrical crews in Georgia are working long hours trying to restore power to homes and businesses, but in some areas so many of the poles themselves were toppled that workers likened it to a complete rebuild .

In South Carolina alone, officials estimate the cost of the emergency response and cleanup after 300 homes were destroyed, another 5,200 damaged, to be roughly $250 million, state Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson said Monday.

In Florida, where many communities face a long recovery process, officials are once again urging people to evacuate after Hurricane Milton gathered speed rapidly Monday, becoming a Category 5 storm . Early models show that Milton could slam into the Tampa Bay area, home to over 3 million people, later this week.

The Biden Administration said Monday that FEMA has teams on the ground in Florida to help with damage from Milton, while continuing Helene recovery efforts.

“FEMA is ready and able to respond to both the ongoing response and recovery efforts in North Carolina specific to Helene, as well as other states, in addition to what’s coming with Milton,” FEMA Director of Public Affairs Jaclyn Rothenberg said.

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