YMCA of East Tennessee accepting donations for Unicoi County flooding victims

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — All YMCA of East Tennessee locations will be accepting donations in the coming days to be delivered to Unicoi County, one of the areas of Tennessee hit hardest by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

All locations will be collecting donations of water, flashlights, batteries, and portable phone chargers through Wednesday, Oct. 2. Supplies will be delivered to the Unicoi County YMCA on Thursday, Oct. 3.

'This is catastrophic:' Newport left underwater following extreme flooding

The YMCA of East Tennessee is comprised of five locations in the Knoxville area: the Lindsay Young Downtown YMCA at 605 West Clinch Avenue, the Pilot Family YMCA at 400 North Winston Road, the Cansler Family YMCA at 616 Jessamine Street, the Davis Family YMCA at 12133 South Northshore Drive, and the Tennova Family YMCA at 7540 Dannaher Drive.

"If you are without power or have been evacuated due to the horrible effects of Helene, please know you are welcome at the Y," a YMCA of East Tennessee Facebook post said on Saturday. "We are open for showers, coffee, wi-fi, device charging, or even for working out or letting your kids play."

Flooding, storm damage assessed in East TN communities

The helicopter rescue of more than 50 patients and personnel from the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital on Friday has become one of the defining images of Helene's devastation.

County officials said during a news conference on Sunday that 73 people from the area remain unaccounted for and estimated that restoration of power to the hospital would take at least 2-3 weeks. A Unicoi County Schools spokesperson said Sunday that it is "unlikely" that schools will be back in session a week from Monday after an already-scheduled fall break.