Transpo officials issue earthquake wake-up call with YouTube videos

by Actual News Geezer | April 5, 2007 at 11:12 am

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Here's the scenario: you're a Washington state bureaucrat, and you want to warn folks that an important bridge needs upgrading to prevent an earthquake catastrophe.

The Traditional Approach: make a boring PowerPoint presentation and put everybody to sleep.

The Web 2.0 Approach: Make a killer YouTube video and scare the bejesus out of everybody.

Check out the video but don't get bored too quickly; the action starts after about 35 seconds; then read below.

"You can call the videos propaganda, but I wouldn't want to be on that bridge if an earthquake hit," said John Milton, state Transportation Department engineer and 520 project director.

Transportation Department officials say they're not trying to scare anyone, just use new technology to reach a wider audience and to help the public understand what could happen if the bridge is not replaced.

"We have a critical infrastructure in danger of catastrophic failure," Milton said. "There are 30,000 linear feet of cracking on the 520 bridge right now. ... We want people to understand that this bridge, as well as the Alaskan Way Viaduct, is very vulnerable."