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#282343 - 10/05/16 08:01 PM Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew
Doug_Ritter Offline

Pooh-Bah

Registered: 01/28/01
Posts: 2197
Waffle House won't stop slinging waffles during Hurricane Matthew

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/10/0...ricane-matthew/
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#282346 - 10/06/16 12:56 AM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Doug_Ritter]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
The “Waffle House Index!” laugh

Priceless.

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#282347 - 10/06/16 12:56 AM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Doug_Ritter]
Dagny Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 11/25/08
Posts: 1918
Loc: Washington, DC

Thanks for that article, I'd never before heard this:

"The popular diner chain renowned for its 24-hour service has an emergency routine that’s so well-regarded, FEMA unofficially uses the restaurants' status as an indicator for the severity of a natural disaster. "


.

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#282348 - 10/06/16 02:39 AM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Dagny]
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
The "waffle house index" was an idea that originated with Craig Fugate, head of FEMA. See Wikipedia: Waffle House Index. The WSJ article Wikipedia references is interesting, but you can't read it unless you have a WSJ account.

A few years ago The Atlantic had a nice short bio on Fugate: In Case of Emergency.
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#282349 - 10/06/16 02:39 AM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Doug_Ritter]
clearwater Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/19/05
Posts: 1177
Loc: Channeled Scablands
Apparently not for a couple of armed robberies either.

http://times-herald.com/news/2016/10/robbers-hit-hwy-154-waffle-house-again

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#282353 - 10/06/16 01:09 PM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Doug_Ritter]
unimogbert Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/10/06
Posts: 882
Loc: Colorado
I wonder if newly hired employees are informed that they are essential emergency workers and are expected to ignore civil evacuation orders?

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#282354 - 10/06/16 02:01 PM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: unimogbert]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Originally Posted By: unimogbert
I wonder if newly hired employees are informed that they are essential emergency workers and are expected to ignore civil evacuation orders?



Where does it way that in the article? Apparently; local managers have discretion to respond to local conditions. It implies that they can indeed close down.....
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#282357 - 10/06/16 03:39 PM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Doug_Ritter]
unimogbert Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/10/06
Posts: 882
Loc: Colorado
Managers where I work use their discretion to NOT close down and require workers to risk dangerous conditions to get to work or not get paid. We aren't essential to anything in the short term. The drive for $$ controls this behavior.

Was just extrapolating from personal experience considering that the Feds look to Waffle House management for hints as to what to do.

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#282359 - 10/06/16 08:12 PM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: unimogbert]
AKSAR Offline
Veteran

Registered: 08/31/11
Posts: 1233
Loc: Alaska
Originally Posted By: unimogbert
...... the Feds look to Waffle House management for hints as to what to do.
Well not exactly. There might be some misunderstanding about how the Waffle House Index is used. The Feds do not "look to Waffle House management", at least not directly.

Waffle House is a large chain, open 24/7, and is very widespread in the part of the country threatened by hurricanes. Senior management at Waffle House has made a policy that their locations will stay open if at all possible. To that end they move portable generators to their locations when big storms are forecast, and have developed a simplified menu that is easy to prepare under less than ideal conditions (limited power and water, etc).

In a wide spread disaster, one of the most critical things any emergency manager needs is accurate information. What areas are hit, and how bad? What areas are not is as bad a shape? But good information is also very hard to get in the early stages of a disaster. Without good information, there is no way to correctly prioritize the response, and to send help first to the areas that most need it.

The Waffle House Index is a quick and dirty way to get a sense of which areas are hardest hit, and which are not so bad off. By spot checking Waffle House location over the storm affected area, emergency management can quickly get a rough sense of the overall situation. If Waffle House is operating normally, the area is probably in pretty good shape. If a Waffle House is serving only their storm menu, it means the area has likely had some damage, with power out. If a Waffle House is closed, it means the area has been very badly hit with major destruction and/or flooding. Thus by doing a quick check of a few businesses, emergency managers can get a first pass on the scale and severity of the disaster. They will of course continue to get more detailed info as they check with fire departments, police, and power companies, and do on the ground and air surveys.

Note that FEMA is meant to be a back up for local and state emergency management. FEMA, by law, is designed to step in and assist only when local and state resources determine they are not adequate to deal with a disaster. The request for FEMA is supposed to originate at the state level. That inherently introduces a time lag before FEMA resources can come into play. One of the (many) reasons the response to Katrina was so bad, was that this time lag was excessive due to bungling at both the state and federal level. One of Fugate's great contributions since taking over FEMA, has been to get FEMA into a more proactive mode. The Waffle House Index is one small part of that. Unlike the past, FEMA can now begin initial planning and preparations to respond even before being directly requested by local and state governments. Even a small speed up on the front end pays big dividends in the overall effectiveness of the response.


Edited by AKSAR (10/06/16 08:41 PM)
Edit Reason: clarity of wording
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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz

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#282361 - 10/06/16 08:42 PM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Doug_Ritter]
LesSnyder Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 07/11/10
Posts: 1680
Loc: New Port Richey, Fla
we Floridians miss Craig, and are appreciative of the infrastructure and policies he implemented

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#282363 - 10/06/16 09:15 PM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Doug_Ritter]
unimogbert Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/10/06
Posts: 882
Loc: Colorado
I have to say that after that explanation- the Waffle House index is quite clever.

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#282413 - 10/09/16 08:41 PM Re: Waffle House won't stop during Hurricane Matthew [Re: Doug_Ritter]
Herman30 Offline
Addict

Registered: 08/08/06
Posts: 495
Loc: Finland
Everytime someone mentions waffles I can not help remembering this:

Madam, we must have waffles! We must all have waffles forthwith! We must all think, and we must all have waffles, and think each and every one of us to the very best of his ability...

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