Desperate Texans turn to fast food app to track power outages in aftermath of Hurricane Beryl

As millions of Texans suffer the effects of Hurricane Beryl, some are using a fast food app to track power outages.

The superstorm brought howling winds and torrential rain to the southern state on Monday, killing eight people and leaving more than 2.7 million without power.

Of the customers without power, 1.6 million are CenterPoint Energy customers, who have lost access to the online outage tracker because it suddenly went offline.

As many desperately tried to contact the provider, some social media users took to the app of a popular burger chain to monitor the outages.

AX user named @BBQBryan pointed out that the Whataburger app has become a very useful resource for tracking power outages, unlike CenterPoint Energy’s online tracker.

The app allows customers to search for Whataburger restaurants and see which areas still have no power.

Closed eateries are colored gray, and open eateries are colored orange.

The well-meaning user also shared a screenshot of a map showing where power has been restored to X locations.

“Whataburger app acts as a power outage tracker, useful since the utility doesn’t provide a map. Still nearly 1.9 million outages,” he captioned the post.

While many desperately tried to contact the provider, some social media users instead took to the app of a popular burger chain to keep track of the outages.

After the post went viral on the app, Texas residents flooded the comments section with jokes about the unconventional solution, while others were outraged.

“Who needs meteorologists between this and the Waffle House Index?” one X user asked.

While another joked, “Texas’ problems require Texas solutions…”

An irate X user also said, “My suggestion is that everyone in Houston NOT pay their electric bill for July unless and until the following is addressed.”

While another joked: ‘Private companies do best what public services can’t. lol.’

“Whataburger and Waffle House always beat Oncor on these types of things. Oncor couldn’t find my address/account for days. They kept saying I didn’t exist so I don’t believe their numbers at all,” one user complained.

The app allows customers to search for any Whataburger restaurant and find out which areas are still experiencing power outages

Ed Nelson, president and CEO of Whataburger, also released a statement and “encouraged residents to call local units as well”

Ed Nelson, president and CEO of Whataburger, also released a statement, “encouraging residents to also call local emergency services.”

“We’re pleased that the Whataburger app has helped Houston residents understand where power is available in the city.

“Please note that the app should only be used as a general idea of ​​power availability. We encourage residents to call local units to ask if they are open and operational. Please be safe when leaving your home.”

Some Houston hospitals also sustained damage during the storm and were forced to close their doors to non-emergency appointments Tuesday. At least one is running on generator power.

Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, strengthening to a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico. later weakens to a tropical depression with maximum wind speeds of approximately 56 km/h.

The storm, which was expected to weaken rapidly as it moved inland, cut a path of destruction through Jamaica, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines last week, killing at least 11 people in Mexico and the Caribbean before reaching Texas.