"When your Waffle House closes, it's time to evacuate."
In an aerial view, a Waffle House restaurant on July 30, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Social media users are reacting with intense concern after the restaurant chain Waffle House announced the closure of many restaurants across Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton.

The so-called "Waffle House Index" map is seen as a reliable indicator of a storm's severity.

The map, updated Wednesday afternoon, is now overwhelming red, indicating the closure of Waffle House stores in the historic hurricane's predicted path. The restaurants post urges Floridians to "please stay safe," and reminds residents to follow local guidelines.

The 1,600 Waffle House locations between the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Ocean serve areas especially vulnerable to hurricanes, but pride themselves on staying open to serve customers even when all other business are closed. The Waffle House Index displays locations as green when open, yellow when service is limited, or red to indicate a restaurant had to close due to the impact of particularly severe weather.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate reportedly looks to the index in coordination with other metrics to assess the intensity of a storm. "If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That's really bad," Waffle House quotes Fugate as saying

Upon seeing the latest index map overwhelmed by red Waffle House closures, one X user declared: "This is the worst forecast yet!!!!! If you live in these areas, RUN!"

Another replied to the Waffle House's post saying, "I'm now following you for all of my future weather news ❤️❤️❤️❤️"



While many users appreciate the dependability of Waffle House's service, and the reliability of the "whindex" to predict catastrophe, others criticized the expectation for workers to risk danger by staying open as late as possible.



Originally published by Latin Times.

Florida