Florence shutters 17 Waffle House restaurants

Hurricane Florence

Jake Head walks through heavy rain from tropical storm Florence in Wilmington, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. (Matt Born/The Star-News via AP)

Matt Born/The Star-News via AP

Hurricane Florence

A farm house is surrounded by flood waters from tropical storm Florence in Hyde County, NC., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Hurricane Florence

A member of the US Coast Guard walks down Mill Creek Road checking houses after tropical storm Florence hit Newport N.C., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. A day after blowing ashore with 90 mph (145 kph) winds, Florence practically parked itself over land all day long and poured on the rain. (AP Photo/Tom Copeland)

AP Photo/Tom Copeland

Hurricane Florence

Boats are stacked up on each other in a marina as a result from Florence in New Bern, NC., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Hurricane Florence

FILE-In this Monday, Oct. 10, 2016 file photo, a home sits in flood waters in Nichols, S.C. The residents of a tiny town in South Carolina who rebuilt after an inland flood from a hurricane destroyed 90 percent of the homes two years ago are uneasy as forecasters warn inland flooding from Hurricane Florence’s rain could be one of the most dangerous and devastating parts of the storm. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

Rainier Ehrhardt/AP

Hurricane Florence

A man crosses a flooded street in downtown Wilmington, N.C., after Hurricane Florence made landfall Friday.

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Hurricane Florence

A National Guard vehicle drives past a Waffle House as Hurricane Florence slowly moves across the East Coast Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, in Florence, S.C.

(AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

Hurricane Florence

A fallen tree is shown after it crashed through the home where a woman and her baby were killed in Wilmington, N.C.

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Hurricane Florence

High winds and water surround buildings as Hurricane Florence hits Front Street in downtown Swansboro N.C., on Friday.

(AP Photo/Tom Copeland)

Hurricane Florence

Oceana Pier and Pier House in Atlantic Beach, N.C.

(Travis Long/The News & Observer vía AP)

Hurricane Florence

A woman holding a child sleeps after being evacuated at Southeast Raleigh High School ahead of Hurricane Florence in Raleigh, N.C.

(Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)

Hurricane Florence

Emmett Marshall, 4, from Norfolk, Va. wades in floodwaters in the Larchmont area of Norfolk, Va.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hurricane Florence

Plywood displaying messages covers the windows and door of a restaurant of Hurricane Florence in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

(Charles Mostoller/Bloomberg)

Hurricane Florence

Kite Boarder Dimitri Maramenides heads out next to Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, N.C.

(L. Todd Spencer/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Hurricane Florence

Teddie Davis goes to check on one of the town’s signature bears that was toppled by Hurricane Florence in downtown New Bern, N.C.

(AP Photo/Chris Seward)

Hurricane Florence

A man secures plywood to protect a window of a property ahead of Hurricane Florence in Greenville, N.C.

(Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)

Hurricane Florence

A message on a boarded-up business encourages people to be safe as Hurricane Florence hits downtown New Bern, N.C.

(AP Photo/Chris Seward)

Hurricane Florence

Pigs stand in a pen at a farm in Ayden, N.C.

(Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)

Hurricane Florence

Plywood displaying messages covers the windows of a restaurant ahead of Hurricane Florence in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

(Charles Mostoller/Bloomberg)

Hurricane Florence

A farm house is surrounded by flooded fields from tropical storm Florence in Hyde County, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Hurricane Florence

Kelly McGuire walks her dogs Jack and Roxy on a mostly deserted oceanfront beach, Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, in Virginia Beach, Va., as the effects of Hurricane Florence are felt.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hurricane Florence

Members of the North Carolina National Guard finish stacking sand bags under a highway overpass near the Lumber River which is expected to flood from Hurricane Florence’s rain in Lumberton, N.C., Friday.

(David Goldman/AP)

Hurricane Florence

Students from a Coastal Storms class use anemometers to measure wind speeds at Union Point Park in New Bern, N.C., on Thursday.

(Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)

Hurricane Florence

A rescue team from the North Carolina National Guard 1/120th battalion evacuates a family as the rising floodwaters from Hurricane Florence threatens their home in New Bern, N.C., on Friday.

(AP Photo/Chris Seward)

Hurricane Florence

In this image from video, a resident rescues a dog by boat in floodwaters in Jacksonville, N.C., on Friday. As floodwaters rise from Hurricane Florence, some residents are volunteering to perform animal rescues by boat in flooded neighborhoods.

(AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)

Hurricane Florence

Sean Hayes, right, from Manteo, N.C., eats at Bubba’s Seafood Restaurant with his family as the deck is covered with a few inches of water from effects of Hurricane Florence on Friday in Virginia Beach, Va.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hurricane Florence

People survey the damage caused by Hurricane Florence on Front Street in downtown New Bern, N.C., on Friday.

(AP Photo/Chris Seward)

Hurricane Florence

Russ Lewis covers his eyes from a gust of wind and a blast of sand as Hurricane Florence approaches Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Friday.

(AP Photo/David Goldman)

Hurricane Florence

Union Point Park is flooded with rising water from the Neuse and Trent Rivers in New Bern, N.C., on Thursday.

(Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)

Hurricane Florence

Mike Kiernan takes photos of the damage to his home in Wilmington, N.C., after Hurricane Florence made landfall Friday.

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Hurricane Florence

Social Service workers help an evacuee with her medications at a storm shelter at Ridge View High School as Hurricane Florence slowly moves across the the East Coast Friday in Columbia, S.C.

(AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

Hurricane Florence

A man moves a large tree limb that downed power lines as the hurricane-turned-tropical storm Florence hit the Cherry Grove community in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Friday, Sept. 14, 2018. Florence flattened trees, crumbled roads and the assault wasn’t anywhere close to being over, with the siege in the Carolinas expected to last all weekend. (Andrew Knapp/The Post And Courier via AP)

Andrew Knapp/AP

Hurricane Florence

Mitchell Floor, left, holds a flashlight as Comfort Suites general manager Beth Bratz, center, and employee Dee Branch go to make coffee as Hurricane Florence rages in Wilmington, N.C., Friday. The area lost power around 4 a.m. and the facility was running small lights, phone chargers and the coffee machine on a generator.

(Chuck Liddy/The News & Observer via AP)

Hurricane Florence

Ethan Hall, right, Michael Jenkins, center, and Nash Fralick, left, examine damage to Tidewater Brewing Co. in Wilmington, N.C., after Hurricane Florence made landfall Friday.

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Hurricane Florence

Two beach goers decided to dress up as the Easter Bunny and a T-Rex and experience the strong wind and blowing sand as Tropical Storm Florence approaches the Isle of Palms, S.C., Friday.

(AP Photo/Mic Smith)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s website says the index tests how a community is faring. Red is closed; yellow is open, but serving a limited menu; green is open and serving a full menu.

Spokesman Pat Warner, in an interview with Fox News, said the restaurant’s status has become an indicator of how a community is faring after a storm.

“We’re kind of an indicator how quickly the community is coming back after the storm. If we’re open quickly, we know they’re coming back or get back to a sense of normalcy. We take pride in being the canary in the coal mine, as we’ve been called,” he said. “We’ve been called the Waffle House index, and we’re pretty proud that people look to us to see if we’re coming back.”

Florence was downgraded from Category 1 to a tropical storm as it moved onto land Friday and was expected to weaken further as it moves inland and turns north. The National Weather Service reported more rain was yet to come as flooding was reported across the region.