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Waffle House Index
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<p>The Waffle House Index is a <a href="/facts/Performance_indicator/qVbntaF8">metric</a> named after the ubiquitous Southern US restaurant chain <a href="/facts/Waffle_House/cR0Hdyng">Waffle House</a> known for its 24-hour, 365-day service. Since this restaurant always remains open (except in extreme circumstances), it has given rise to an informal but useful metric to determine the severity of a storm and the likely scale of assistance required for disaster recovery. It was coined by former administrator <a href="/facts/Craig_Fugate/c2vHv7l6">Craig Fugate</a> of the <a href="/facts/Federal_Emergency_Management_Agency/JUa8guyo">Federal Emergency Management Agency</a> (FEMA). The metric is unofficially used by FEMA to inform <a href="/facts/Disaster_response/0ahnmSpP">disaster response</a>. </p>