In the wake of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast with devastating winds and flooding, emergency responders are working to assess the damage. One unconventional but, some argue, effective tool for gauging the situation is the "Waffle House Index," a metric used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to evaluate the severity of storms and guide disaster recovery efforts.
Named after the resilient Southern restaurant chain, the Waffle House Index has, in the past, proven useful in post-storm assessments and could now play a role in the recovery process following Hurricane Milton.
Riley Walz has created what is the first map to track the “Waffle House Index” in real-time. His Waffle House Index map currently shows that 106 Waffle House restaurants are closed in Florida. Waffle House, which operates extensively across the southern U.S. where hurricanes are frequent, has developed strong risk management and disaster preparedness strategies. The chain is known for staying operational during extreme weather and quickly reopening, often with a limited menu, after major storms like Hurricane Milton.
Dan Stoneking, FEMA’s director of external affairs, explains:
“The Waffle House test doesn't just tell us how quickly a business might rebound – it also tells us how the larger community is faring. The sooner restaurants, grocery stores, and banks can reopen, the sooner local economies will start generating revenue again – signaling a stronger recovery for that community."
The Waffle House Index map can therefore serve as a useful tool for assessing which areas in Florida are struggling to recover from Hurricane Milton, if used alongside a broader recovery strategy.
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