Texans in search of power after Hurricane Beryl left millions without electricity are turning to Whataburger’s online map to find open restaurants. The popular fast-food chain’s 164 branches in the Houston area are typically open 24 hours a day, making them a convenient option for those looking for a meal, air-conditioning, or a working gas station.
Houston residents, like Jais Curry, have been using the Whataburger map to locate nearby restaurants with power. Curry, who needed to feed a crew of 20 cement workers, found a location with a decent concentration of open Whataburgers using the map. While her usual order is a patty melt with spicy ketchup, she had to settle for something different due to the long lines at the restaurant.
This phenomenon of using restaurant chains as a way to navigate disaster areas is not new. The “Waffle House index,” coined by former FEMA head Craig Fugate, emphasizes the importance of the chain’s restaurants in determining the severity of a disaster. If a Waffle House is closed, it indicates a serious situation.
In Houston, where the primary energy provider CenterPoint Energy has been unable to provide detailed outage information online, residents have resorted to using the Whataburger map as a proxy for determining where power has been restored. The utility reported about 1.6 million customers without power on Tuesday afternoon, down from over two million the previous day. Technical issues following a May storm have caused CenterPoint’s outage map to be offline, with plans to launch a new platform by the end of July.
While it may seem unusual to rely on a fast-food restaurant app for power outage information, the current situation in Houston has led residents to creative solutions. As Texans continue to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, the importance of access to reliable information about power outages remains a top priority for those affected by the storm.