Topline
Floridians in the path of Hurricane Helene who may have underestimated the severity of the storm faced the harsh reality of its dangers when several Waffle House locations in Tallahassee boarded up their windows and closed, marking the storm as a “red” on the now federally recognized “Waffle House Index” that spread quickly on social media.
A Waffle House restaurant on March 26, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Key Facts
Waffle House——which has famously stayed open through hurricanes, blizzards and other natural disasters—started closing locations in Tallahassee, Florida, and news spread to social media as the ultimate sign of pending doom.
Former Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) administrator Craig Fugate came up with the “Waffle House Index” in 2011 after a tornado barreled through Joplin, Missouri, and two of the chain’s restaurants in the city remained open, prompting him to say “If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That’s really bad.”
If Waffle Houses in an area are open and serving a full menu, it’s a green on the index, a limited menu is a yellow on the scale, meaning the local area could be without electricity or water, and the index goes to red if the locations close down, indicating the local community will be in need of significant help.
Waffle House has its own storm center that is activated when planning for a natural disaster, and FEMA said it’s just one of the business partners that helps the agency gauge how a community is recovering (along with Target, Walmart, Lowes and others).
In Tallahassee, at least one location was back up and running by 7 a.m. EDT Friday.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Crucial Quote
“If a Waffle House can serve a full menu, they’ve likely got power (or are running on a generator),” Fugate said in an FEMA agency blog post several years ago. “A limited menu means an area may not have running water or electricity, but there’s gas for the stove to make bacon, eggs, and coffee: exactly what hungry, weary people need.”
Key Background
Waffle House closed all of its Tallahassee locations and a nearby Crawfordville location in Florida Thursday. In making the decision, the company told USA Today it relies on weather forecasting and government advisories, and also tends to follow mandatory evacuation orders. Late Thursday night, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 in Florida’s Big Bend area. The storm moved through Florida and much of Georgia overnight, and its center was about 30 miles northeast of Athens, Georgia, as of 7 a.m. EDT Friday. At least six deaths have been reported and more than two million people were without power Friday morning. The storm, which has since been downgraded from a hurricane, is expected to continue to move toward the Carolinas and Tennessee Valley Friday.
Tangent
Not only is Waffle House known for staying open until the most desperate of times, it’s also known for quickly getting back on its feet. During Hurricane Irene in 2011, Waffle House lost power to 22 restaurants in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Within days, all but one had reopened. In Weldon, N.C., it did so without power, serving scrambled eggs and sausage biscuits cooked on a gas stove. In a blog post, Waffle House said it has taken its post-disaster business strategy particularly seriously since Hurricane Katrina shut down more than 100 locations and destroyed seven in 2005. Despite the damage, “those that reopened quickly were swamped with customers.”
