--- title: "After Deadly Hurricane, Texans Using Whataburger App to Track Power Outages" description: "Order Up Nothing spells dystopia quite like using a fast food app to track damage from natural disasters — but in Texas, they make do. As a viral post on X-formerly-Twitter indicates, the San Antonio-based fast food chain Whataburger's store locator offers a better look at what areas are still experiencing power outages in the […]" date: "2024-07-10" modified: "2024-07-10" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/texas-whataburger-hurricane-power-outages" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "hurricanes" - "natural disasters" - "texas" - "the digest" --- # After Deadly Hurricane, Texans Using Whataburger App to Track Power Outages ![Nothing spells dystopia quite like using the Whataburger app to track damage from a hurricane — but in Texas, they make do.]() *\Image: Epics via Getty\* ## Mess in Texas Nothing spells dystopia quite like using a fast food app to track damage from natural disasters — but in Texas, they make do. As a [viral post on X-formerly-Twitter indicates](), the San Antonio-based fast food chain Whataburger's store locator offers a better look at what areas are still experiencing power outages in the wake of the [uber-destructive Hurricane Beryl]() than the state's own electrical companies. As the reasoning goes, if the "W" logo for one of the more than 120 Houston locations is lit up with the company's iconic orange, that likely means that area has power. If the logo is grey, indicating that the store is closed, it probably means there's no electricity. Indeed, as the [*Houston Chronicle* noted](), the fast food chain that's open 24 hours at all locations can act as a stand-in for the local CenterPoint Energy's outage tracker, which [was down after the storm]() — though [some people]() [noted]() that when they tried to go to locations that were supposed to be open, they discovered that they were, in fact, closed. https://www.twitter.com/BBQBryan/status/1810509150842974308 ## Index This This isn't the first time Americans have used the power status of fast food joints to track fallout from disasters. With more than [2,000 24-hour locations]() in half the states in the US, the fast-casual diner chain Waffle House is famously used in states where it's prevalent as a [loose meteorological rating system]() to determine how much damage a storm has done. "Green means the restaurant is serving a full menu, a signal that damage in an area is limited and the lights are on," the company notes in a [delightful article on its website]() about the so-called Waffle House Index. "Yellow means a limited menu, indicating power from a generator, at best, and low food supplies. Red means the restaurant is closed, a sign of severe damage in the area or unsafe conditions." In that same piece, an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency described how [seriously first responders take a "red]()" on the index. "If you get there and the Waffle House is closed?" mused FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, "that’s really bad. That’s where you go to work." As novel as these sorts of fast food-inspired hacks are, others online pointed out just how messed up it is that [Americans have to resort]() to such measures. "Why are we out here creating new versions of the waffle house index," [queried one user](), "instead of fixing our energy grid\[?\]" **More on natural disasters:** [*Temperature Gets So Hot That Motorcyclist Dies Mid-Ride*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()