The Waffle House Index is a real-life informal metric used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assess the severity of natural disasters based on the operating status of Waffle House restaurants. Because the chain is famous for staying open during extreme weather, a 'Red' status (closed) indicates a catastrophic event. On the internet, the index has evolved into a meme symbolizing the ultimate threshold of chaos. Users apply the 'Green, Yellow, Red' scale to everything from minor personal inconveniences to global events, using the restaurant's legendary resilience as the benchmark for when things have officially gone too far.