As category 2 storm Idalia is expected to hit Florida’s West Coast, people are turning to Waffle House’s index, an indicator of the severity of the 2023 hurricane.
Disaster and safety managers have issued strict warnings to the residents of Florida counties to drop everything they are doing and seek shelter immediately as the intensifying storms could potentially claim lives. Hurricane Idalia is expected to cause major devastation only days after much of Maui Island in Hawaii was consumed by flames from wildfires.
How does the Waffle House’s index work as an indicator?
The unofficial color-coded metrics scale at the Waffle House measures the impact of Hurricanes using different indicators.
There are three signs in different colors and each of them tells the severity of the storm.
- A green sign means the restaurant is serving at its full capacity and the damage in the area is limited.
- Yellow means the restaurant is running low on power and is using a generator to serve limited orders with a low food supply.
- A Red sign means the restaurant is closed and indicates severe damage in the given region, meaning people must evacuate due to unsafe conditions.
While speaking about Waffle House’s index, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate went as far as saying: “If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That’s really bad. That’s where you go to work.”
Is the restaurant closing for Hurricane Idalia?
The 24/7 food chain only shuts down under extreme conditions. Reportedly, four to seven restaurants in the path of Idalia have closed their doors.
According to Njeri Boss, Waffle House’s vice president of food safety and public relations, restaurants briefly closing are in Live Oak, Madison, and St. Petersburg.
Speaking of the potential closing until the storm passes, Njeri said: “The 24-hour Waffle House, at least for that time, will be no more.”
Storms expected to make landfall on the northern Gulf coast
Hurricane Idalia is expected to intensify on Tuesday before making landfall on Wednesday morning in Florida’s northern Gulf Coast.
The powerful storm is expected to surge as high as 15 feet, ” high enough to stack a wall of seawater halfway up the second floor of an average building”, reports CNN.
Idalia is expected to become a Category 3 hurricane before reaching the Big Bend region.
Addressing the natural disaster and the devastation it can bring to parts of the state, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, said in a news conference on Tuesday: “That is storm surge that, if you’re there while that hits, it’s going to be very difficult to survive.”
The post Waffle House's hurricane indicator can save your life amid powerful storms appeared first on HITC.
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