Waffle House Index

Description

The index is based on Waffle House's reputation for strong disaster preparedness and for staying open during extreme weather or reopening quickly afterwards.

Levels

The index consists of three levels, based on the extent of operations and service at the restaurant following a storm:

Background

In August 2004, following Hurricane Charley in Florida, Craig Fugate, who was leading Florida's Division of Emergency Management at the time, along with Tad Warfel and Ben Nelson, coined the scale based on the status of Waffle House restaurants still open in areas that had been hit by a disaster.

The phenomenon was also observed and reported by journalist Matt Dellinger in a 2006 article in The Oxford American, in which he noted that he had "found a way to map the destruction from Hurricane Katrina: look for Waffle Houses."

The term was also used by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in May 2011 following the 2011 Joplin tornado, during which the two Waffle House restaurants in Joplin remained open.

The measure is based on Waffle House's reputation for staying open during extreme weather and for reopening quickly, albeit sometimes with a limited menu, after very severe weather events such as tornadoes or hurricanes. The chain's disaster preparedness measures include assembling and training "Waffle House jump teams" to facilitate fast reopening after disasters. Waffle House, along with other chains (such as Home Depot, Walmart, and Lowe's) which do a significant proportion of their business in the southern US where there is a frequent risk of hurricanes, have good risk management and disaster preparedness. Because of this, and the fact that a cut-down menu is prepared for times when there is no power or limited supplies, the Waffle House Index rarely reaches the red (closed) level.

The "Waffle House Index" sits alongside more formal measures of wind, rainfall, and other weather information, such as the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, which are used to indicate the intensity of a storm.

Dan Stoneking, FEMA director of external affairs, wrote in a FEMA blog post:

A FOIA request response in 2017 included emails saying that the Waffle House Index was a personal project of Craig Fugate's, denying a connection between the Waffle House Index and FEMA's National Business Emergency Operations Center.

Examples

• In 2022, because of the expected severity of Hurricane Ian, 35 Waffle Houses closed in Florida prior to the storm's arrival, an extremely rare event. Hurricane Ian eventually made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 mph, peaking out over the Atlantic Ocean as a Category 5 hurricane.
• Ahead of Hurricane Helene in September 2024, a Waffle House in Crawfordville shut down, raising the Waffle House Index to red.
• In preparation for Hurricane Milton in October 2024, Waffle House announced that 25 Waffle House locations in the Tampa Bay area and eight in the Fort Myers area would close on October 8 prior to the storm's arrival.

References

References

1. (2010). "Waffle House Restaurants hurricane response: A case study". International Journal of Production Economics.
2. Rossman, Sean. (September 7, 2017). "How FEMA uses Waffle Houses in disasters". [[USA Today]].
3. (September 13, 2018). "Landfall, Storm Surge and the Waffle House Index: Hurricane Terms and What They Mean". [[The New York Times]].
4. Mettler, Katie. (October 7, 2016). "The 'Waffle House index': Hurricane Matthew is so scary even the always-open eatery is evacuating". [[The Washington Post]].
5. (2016). "How Firm Responses to Natural Disasters Strengthen Community Resilience: A Stakeholder-Based Perspective". [[Organization & Environment]].
6. Wolff-Mann, Ethan. (October 7, 2016). "Here's what FEMA told us about the Waffle House Index". [[Yahoo! Finance]].
7. Bauerlein, Valerie. (September 1, 2011). "How to Measure a Storm's Fury One Breakfast at a Time". The Wall Street Journal.
8. (May 28, 2016). "Craig Fugate". National Public Radio.
9. Smith, K. Annabelle. (August 30, 2012). "How Waffle House Uses Twitter to Help Recovery Efforts". [[Smithsonian Magazine]].
10. Labowitz, Sarah. (January 23, 2026). "The Truth Behind the Waffle House Index: Interview with Craig Fugate".
11. (2006). "The Terrible Opportunity". The Oxford American.
12. Walter, Laura. (July 6, 2011). "What Do Waffles Have to Do with Risk Management?". [[EHS Today]].
13. (July 19, 2011). "What the Waffle House Can Teach About Managing Supply Chain Risk". Insurance Journal.
14. (September 1, 2017). "FEMA really does have a 'Waffle House Index' for hurricanes – and they're not too happy about it". MuckRock.
15. "News of the Day – What do Waffle Houses Have to Do with Risk Management?".
16. Judkis, Maura. (September 12, 2018). "Hurricane Florence is a serious threat – just ask the Waffle House storm center". Washington Post.
17. Christensen, Caroline. (September 26, 2024). "Crawfordville Waffle House location closes as Helene barrels toward Big Bend".
18. Waffle House. (October 8, 2024). "Our #whindex status maps reflect our closures as of 2pm today in advance of #HurricaneMilton. More updates to come. Please stay safe.".
19. Waffle House. (October 9, 2024). "These updated #whindex status maps reflect our closures as of 2PM this afternoon in advance of #HurricaneMilton. Please stay safe.".