Waffle House status signals storm severity for FEMA and residents

Craig Fugate devised the Waffle House Index in 2004 while heading Florida emergency management after Hurricane Charley, when he found only a limited-menu Waffle House open amid the wreckage. The informal gauge uses the chain's more than 1,900 Southeast and mid-Atlantic restaurants: green for full menu, yellow for limited menu on generator power, red for closed. Fugate later applied the color-coded approach as FEMA administrator under President Barack Obama, including after the 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado when both local Waffle Houses stayed open. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed seven locations and shut 100 more in 2005, quickly reopened stores saw business surge; the company now runs a storm center and mobile command center. FEMA offers some live tracking. Left-rated AP coverage and right-rated IJR and Fortune pieces present the same core history and mechanics, differing mainly in headline emphasis on Southerners and FEMA versus Fugate's search for food and status signals for officials and residents.