Overview

• Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night.
• The storm has caused at least six deaths and left more than two million people without power.
• Waffle House closed all its Tallahassee locations, a rare move that signaled the storm's severity.
• The 'Waffle House Index,' created by former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate, uses the chain's operational status to gauge community impact.
• By Friday morning, at least one Waffle House location in Tallahassee had reopened, providing a much-needed service to the storm-affected community.