motor down any road or highway in the American Southeast and you ’ll belike see at least one — probably more than one — of the yellow - and - blackWaffle Housesigns aflare , 24/7 , 365 Day a year . That include during natural catastrophe , major power outages and other emergency .
That ’s because the Georgia - based range — known for its famous " scattered , smothered and covered " hash browns — literally keeps the light on . Waffle House has such a strong repute for being able-bodied to stay open during and after any type of disaster , theFederal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA ) uses the restaurant to measure the severity of storm damage on the ground by what ’s know as the Waffle House Index . Today FEMA is using the index to judge the rigor of thecoronaviruspandemic — and is has the Waffle House Index peg at red .
The term " Waffle House Index , " was produce by former FEMA director W. Craig Fugate , who cope a record 81 disaster declarations in 2010 , then another record 87 in 2011 while wield FEMA for the Obama brass . Fugate designed the index on how quickly Waffle Houses are able to get back up and running following a storm or cataclysm .
" It ’s a shorthand for us to get in there and quickly get a snapshot , " Fugatetold The New York Times in 2012 . " Is the Waffle House open ? Everything normal there ? "
The color - coded index is simple : If the local Waffle House is serving a full menu , it ’s green . If the restaurant has no power , but is still open and serve a limited , grill - only fare , it ’s jaundiced . Red think of the restaurant is closed , a " really speculative " planetary house , according to Fugate . This is the first time the index has been used for a non - weather - touch on emergency .
Njeri Boss , Waffle House director of public relation , charge out a statement regarding the closures :
So why Waffle House and not another business or eating place ? simple-minded . Waffle House ’s functional ism is to get open no matter what . The restaurants will open without power ; even without water . They ’ll bring in generators to turn the light on and can make deep brown with bottled water .
Today though , the coronavirus is occupy a Brobdingnagian toll and more than 400 of the mountain chain ’s 2,000 eatery are closed in . That ’s ominous news .
" If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?“Fugate tell The Wall Street Journalafter Hurricane Irene smack the U.S. East Coast and Canada . " That ’s really bad . That ’s where you go to work . "
This story has been updated to include the statement from Waffle House .
