Waffle Houses across states affected by Hurricane Matthews are set to close, the company announced on Friday, in a sign of the severity of the hurricane.
The closure of Waffle Houses is an informal indicator of the severity of natural disasters in the US. The company is renowned for staying open during the worst of times.
Waffle House’s vice-president of culture, Pat Warner, originally told Fox News on Wednesday that they expected to remain open during Hurricane Matthew.
“We’re a 24-hour restaurant, so oddly enough shutting down is a big deal for us,” Warner said.
However, the company tweeted on Friday that 25 locations in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina will indeed be closing.
Update - 25 restaurants closed in FL, GA & SC #Matthew
— Waffle House (@WaffleHouse) October 7, 2016
The Waffle House Index is an informal measurement used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to determine the severity of a storm. It is color-coded green, yellow and red. Green is for when the restaurant is open and serving a full menu; yellow indicates there is a limited menu, with possibly no electricity or water; red indicates the restaurant has closed.
The term was coined by former Fema administrator Craig Fugate.
“If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?” Fugate said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “That’s really bad. That’s where you go to work.”
Due to the fact that many of Waffle House’s stores are located in southern states, they are frequently exposed to natural disasters. After having to close 100 stores and having a further seven destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, the company upgraded its emergency response procedures.
Waffle Houses remained open during the 2011 Joplin tornado, which killed 161 people and caused $2.8bn in damage.
People took to social media to express alarm as the index slipped into the red for Hurricane Matthew.
Folks, when they shut down the Waffle House -- it's time to leave town. #HurricaneMatthew
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) October 7, 2016
#HurricaneMatthew has just done what no other force, man or nature has been able to do; @WaffleHouse down I-95 closes. It just got real!~PHS pic.twitter.com/TTMoG0Rsg6
— Elijah Burke (@DaBlackPope) October 7, 2016
Politician: u should evacuate
— sarah (@SarahDecedue) October 7, 2016
Public: ...
Weatherman: u should evacuate
Public: ...
Waffle House: *closes for #HurricaneMatthew *
Public: pic.twitter.com/ftzYCkHTms
Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Florida governor Rick Scott said 600,000 people in the state are without power.
The storm has already killed more than 470 people in Haiti, and one death related to the storm has been reported in Florida.
Scott said on Thursday that this storm may be even worse than anticipated.
“Do not surf. Do not go on the beach. This storm will kill you,” he said.
