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How Waffle House helps Southerners — and FEMA — judge a storm's severity

FILE - A sign is all that's left of this Waffle House on the beach in Gulfport, Miss., Aug. 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Phil Coale, File)

FILE - A sign is all that's left of this Waffle House on the beach in Gulfport, Miss., Aug. 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Phil Coale, File)

FILE - Luke Churchill, left, stands with his wife, Mary and their children, Katie, 13, Liam, 9, and Raighan, 3, as they wait in the rain outside an open Waffle House restaurant in Wilmington, N.C., after Hurricane Florence traveled through the area, Sept. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

FILE - Luke Churchill, left, stands with his wife, Mary and their children, Katie, 13, Liam, 9, and Raighan, 3, as they wait in the rain outside an open Waffle House restaurant in Wilmington, N.C., after Hurricane Florence traveled through the area, Sept. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

FILE - A billboard lies atop a Waffle House restaurant after being knocked down by Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 14, 2018. (Carlos R. Munoz/Sarasota Herald-Tribune via AP, File)

FILE - A billboard lies atop a Waffle House restaurant after being knocked down by Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Fla., Oct. 14, 2018. (Carlos R. Munoz/Sarasota Herald-Tribune via AP, File)

A sign on a closed Waffle House on Highway US 19 in anticipation of Hurricane Milton on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

A sign on a closed Waffle House on Highway US 19 in anticipation of Hurricane Milton on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

FILE - Only the benches remain at what was a Waffle House restaurant on the beachfront area in Gulfport, Miss., Sept. 20, 2005, following Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File)

FILE - Only the benches remain at what was a Waffle House restaurant on the beachfront area in Gulfport, Miss., Sept. 20, 2005, following Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File)

FILE - A sailboat washed out of the water during Hurricane Gustav. rests next to a road in Biloxi, Miss., Sept. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/James Edward Bates/Sun Herald, File)

FILE - A sailboat washed out of the water during Hurricane Gustav. rests next to a road in Biloxi, Miss., Sept. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/James Edward Bates/Sun Herald, File)