ATLANTA — When hurricanes hit the Southeast, residents and even federal emergency officials watch an unusual signal of how bad things are: whether the local Waffle House is open, The Associated Press reported.
The informal measure is called the Waffle House Index. If a Waffle House stays open, even with a limited menu, neighbors take it as a sign that a storm is unlikely to be devastating. A closed location signals disaster.
The chain serves breakfast around the clock every day and is known for disaster preparedness, the AP reported. It even runs its own storm center, and its social media accounts share color-coded maps of locations in storm zones. FEMA also offers some live tracking.
Green means a restaurant is serving a full menu, pointing to minimal damage nearby. Yellow means a limited menu, often a sign the restaurant is running on a generator and the area may lack power or running water. Red means the location is closed because of unsafe conditions or severe destruction.
Former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has said he came up with the idea while leading Florida’s emergency management in 2004. Looking for food while surveying damage from Hurricane Charley, he found only a Waffle House serving a limited menu, according to the AP.
His team noticed other Waffle Houses open in communities without power or water, and the restaurants became a feature on maps his team used to show where damage was worst.
The chain has more than 1,900 locations, mostly in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. For some residents, the AP reported, the index is a telltale sign of whether they should evacuate.
Sources: KTAR News/AP. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: GOES imagery: CSU/CIRA & NOAA / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
