Top line
Texans affected by Hurricane Beryl and its remnants are using the Whataburger app to trace power outages of their area after the outage map from CenterPoint Energy — one among the state’s largest electric providers — went down this week.
A Whataburger sign.
Key data
The app provides real-time updates on location closures and indicates which stores are closed with a gray Whataburger logo, allowing customers to follow the app to learn which areas of the state have had power restored.
The Texas-based burger chain has over 900 branches within the USA, with around 700 Locations in Texas alone.
Social media users complained concerning the lack of an influence outage map from Houston-based utility CenterPoint Energy, in order that they turned to the Whataburger app for up-to-date information on power outages.
Poweroutage.us – an independent power outage tracker – reports that CenterPoint’s outage map is currently offline; the one information CenterPoint has concerning the outages is a trackerthat discloses how many purchasers are affected, what number of lively outages there are, how many purchasers have had power restored within the last 24 hours, and what number of outages have been resolved within the last 24 hours.
This is not the primary time CenterPoint has experienced system issues during a storm: The company’s power outage tracker experienced “technical difficulties” following the deadly storms that killed not less than 4 people within the state in May. after to the Houston Chronicle.
Forbes has contacted CenterPoint for comment.
How many individuals in Texas haven’t any electricity?
As of 5:20 p.m. EDT, greater than 2 million people in Texas are without power, in keeping with Data from Poweroutage.us. CenterPoint customers make up the vast majority of those without power, with over 1.6 million of their customers still without power.
How much damage did Beryl cause?
Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, Texas, early Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. The storm made history earlier in its history because the earliest Category 4 after which Category 5 hurricane on record within the Atlantic basin. At least 11 people within the Caribbean have died in consequence of the storm, together with seven within the United States – one in Louisiana and 6 in Texas. Jamaican officials said Beryl had 6.4 million US dollars in crops and the needed infrastructure, which results in food shortages within the country.
Key quote
“We are pleased that the Whataburger app has helped Houston residents find where power is available in the city,” said Ed Nelson, president and CEO of Whataburger, in a press release. “Remember, the app should only be used as a general guide to power availability. We encourage residents to call local utility companies to see if they are open and operating. Please stay safe when you leave your home.”
Surprising fact
This shouldn’t be the primary time a fast-food chain has been used to trace power outages during a storm. The “Waffle House Index,” coined by Craig Agate, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, made the rounds on the web after Hurricane Irene in 2011. Similar to the Whataburger app, people took advantage of Waffle House store closures to seek out out if there was power of their area. That’s because there are 1,900 Waffle House stores (1,600 in 2011), positioned primarily within the South and Gulf Coast, where hurricanes occur more steadily than other parts of the country.
tangent
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been criticized for his absence through the storm. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has been serving as acting governor in Abbott’s absence since July 5. Abbott is on a international business trip to South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, organized by the state, and won’t return until Friday. Abbott said in a To update Beryl said on July 5 that he’s “in daily contact with Acting Governor Patrick, the Texas Division of Emergency Management and other state officials to ensure Texas quickly deploys all necessary resources to assist Texans as heavy rains, flooding and strong tropical winds are expected to affect several regions of the state.” A Monday morning tweet by Abbott providing an update on his trip was met with fierce reactions as users questioned why he was not present within the state.
