Rantz: Latest I-5 crash indicates we’re toast in natural disaster

Seattle is always one overturned truck away from a catastrophic traffic nightmare. Whether it’s a truck of frozen fish or a tanker of propane on I-5, the entire region’s traffic comes to a standstill and no matter how quickly we’re told local officials work to clear the accident, it happens at a snail’s pace.

So what makes us think if, God forbid, a natural disaster or terrorist attack happens that we’ll be able to cope as a region?

Related: ‘Strong’ tremors recorded for the past week under Hood Canal

After fishgate, Seattle Department of Transportation head Scott Kubly claimed the accident showed that the City of Seattle does “a good job of incident response.” A nine-hour delay of crippling traffic was a “good job” so I assume Monday’s eight-hour delay for the butane truck will be celebrated by the Washington State Department of Transportation?

Despite all the anxiety after a report indicated anything west of I-5 would be destroyed if we get hit by a massive earthquake, we know the state’s plan is “grossly inadequate.” They can’t handle fish or butane, so we shouldn’t be shocked they can’t handle a massive earthquake.

But when that inevitable earthquake happens, how many lives will be lost as residents try to flee on broken infrastructure our state and local leaders will take their time clearing?

It feels like sometimes state and local officials approach traffic issues with the urgency of a DMV worker squeezing in one last client before their lunch break. In other words: there doesn’t seem to be enough urgency. We have enough of these traffic incidents that it seems like common sense to act with a sense of urgency as a means to practice for a more serious catastrophe.

I get that it was volatile propane and requires some deliberate attention. But when lives are on the line, will these folks be able to work faster in even more dangerous circumstances? Right now we have first responders being the only ones who seem to act with haste. That spells danger.

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