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Crowd collapses and crushes
Type of disaster that occurs due to overcrowding

Crowd collapses and crushes are dangerous incidents caused by extreme overcrowding, often when densities reach eight to ten people per square meter, causing individuals to be pressed and sometimes swept along involuntarily. At such densities, a progressive collapse can occur, where people fall and become trampled or crushed, and others may be asphyxiated while still standing. These tragedies usually stem from organizational failures and could often be prevented with effective crowd management. They happen at various large events, with crowd density being a more critical factor than overall size. Moreover, such incidents are frequently misreported as human stampedes, which involve rapid crowd movement to escape danger.

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Background

One study has calculated that there were 232 deaths and over 65,000 injuries in the ten years between 1992 and 2002 as a result of such incidents,9 but crowd scientists believe that such casualties are both vastly under-reported and increasing in frequency. One estimate is that only one in ten crowd injuries occurring in doorbuster sales are reported, while many, if not most, injuries at rock concerts go unreported.10

Dynamics

Main article: Crowd analysis

The average individual occupies an oval floorspace approximately 30 by 60 centimetres (1 by 2 ft)—0.2 square metres; 2 square feet—and at densities of 1 to 2 per square meter (or per 10 sq ft) individuals can move freely without contact.11 Even if people are moving quickly, at this density one can avoid obstacles, and the chance of a crowd-related incident is minimal. Even at three or four people per square meter,12 the risk is low;13 however, at densities of five per square meter,14 it becomes more difficult for individuals to move, and at higher densities of six to seven per square meter,15 individuals become pressed against each other and can be unable to move voluntarily. At this point a crowd can begin to behave like a fluid, with individuals moved about by the pressure of those around them, and shockwaves can pass through the crowd as pressures within the crowd change.1617 This can be highly dangerous, although some people actively seek this experience, such as at rock concerts18 or football matches,19 where the excitement, camaraderie, and literally "going with the flow" is for some an essential part of the experience,20 and activities like dancing and moshing are common. The danger inherent in these conditions is that the crowd will collapse in on itself or become so densely packed that individuals are crushed and asphyxiated.

Crowd collapses

A crowd collapse occurs when a crowd is so dense that each individual is touching others all around and is, to an extent, supported by those around. This can occur whether the crowd is moving or stationary. If a person then falls, the support to those around is lost, while the pressure from those further out remains, causing people to fall into the void. This process is then repeated, causing a bigger void, and will progress until the pressure eases; meanwhile, those who have fallen are at risk of being smothered by the weight of bodies on top or being trampled as the crowd is swept over them.21 An example of a progressive crowd collapse was the 2015 Mina stampede in Mecca, Saudi Arabia during the Hajj22 when over 2,400 people were reported to have died.

Crowd crushes

At even higher densities (approaching ten people per square metre (one per square foot))23 a crowd can become so packed that people are crushed together to such an extent they can no longer breathe and are asphyxiated.24 Such crowd crushes can occur when a moving crowd is funneled into a smaller and smaller space, when it meets an obstacle (such as a dead end, or a locked door), or when an already densely packed crowd has an influx of people, causing a pressure wave toward those at the front of the crowd. In this situation those entering may be unaware of the effect on those in front and continue to press in.25 Examples of crushes are the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England in 1989, the Love Parade disaster in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in 2010, the Astroworld Festival crowd crush in Houston, Texas, in 2021, and the Itaewon Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea in 2022.26

Crowd "stampedes"

Main article: Stampede § Human stampedes and crushes

The term "stampede" is usually used in reference to animals that are fleeing a threat. Stampede events that involve humans are extremely rare and are unlikely to be fatal.27 According to Keith Still, professor of crowd science at Manchester Metropolitan University, "If you look at the analysis, I've not seen any instances of the cause of mass fatalities being a stampede. People don't die because they panic. They panic because they are dying".28 Paul Torrens, a professor at the Center for Geospatial Information Science at the University of Maryland, remarks that "the idea of the hysterical mass is a myth".29 Incidents involving crowds are often reported by media as the results of panic.3031 However, the scientific literature has explained how panic is a myth which is used to mislead the attention of the public from the real causes of crowd incidents, such as a crowd crush.323334

Causes of death

In crowd collapse and crush incidents the most common cause of death is asphyxiation, caused either by vertical stacking, as people fall on top of one another, or by horizontal stacking, where people are crushed together or against an unyielding barrier. Victims can also exhibit bone fractures caused by the pressure,35 or trampling injuries, when a crowd has swept over them where they have lain.36

Prevention

Main article: Crowd control

It is believed that most major crowd disasters can be prevented by simple crowd management strategies.37 Crushes can be prevented by organization and traffic control, such as crowd barriers. On the other hand, barriers in some cases may funnel the crowd toward an already-packed area, such as in the Hillsborough disaster. Hence barriers can be a solution in preventing or a key factor in causing a crush. One problem is lack of feedback from people being crushed to the crowd pressing behind—feedback can instead be provided by police, organizers, or other observers, particularly raised observers, such as on platforms or horseback, who can survey the crowd and use loudspeakers to communicate and direct a crowd.38 In some cases it may be possible to take simple measures such as spreading movements out over time.39

A factor that may contribute to a crush is inexperienced security officers who assume that people's behaviour in a dense crowd is voluntary and dangerous, and start applying force or preventing people from moving in certain directions. In the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, some police and stewards were so concerned with what they saw as possible hooliganism that they took actions that actually made matters worse.40

There is risk of a crush when crowd density exceeds about five people per square meter.41 For a person in a crowd a signal of danger, and a warning to get out of the crowd if possible, is the sensation of being touched on all four sides. A later, more serious, warning is when one feels shock waves travelling through the crowd, due to people at the back pushing forward against people at the front with nowhere to go.42 Keith Still of the Fire Safety Engineering Group, University of Greenwich, said "Be aware of your surroundings. Look ahead. Listen to the crowd noise. If you start finding yourself in a crowd surge, wait for the surge to come, go with it, and move sideways. Keep moving with it and sideways, with it and sideways."43 Other recommendations include trying to remain upright, and keeping away from walls and other obstructions if possible.44

After the 1883 crush known as the Victoria Hall disaster in Sunderland, England, which killed 183 children, a law was passed in England which required all public entertainment venues to be equipped with doors that open outwards—for example, using crash bar latches that open when pushed.45 Crash bars are required by various building codes.

See also

Notes

Sources

References

  1. 1 square metre is approx. 10 square feet, giving about 2 square feet per each person ↩

  2. Haghani, Milad; Lovreglio, Ruggiero (9 December 2022). "Data-based tools can prevent crowd crushes". Science. 378 (6624): 1060–1061. Bibcode:2022Sci...378.1060H. doi:10.1126/science.adf5949. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 36480619. S2CID 254485601. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf5949 ↩

  3. around one per square foot ↩

  4. "Crowd and traffic control could have prevented Seoul Halloween deaths". Japan Times. Bloomberg, Reuters. 1 November 2022. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/11/01/asia-pacific/south-korea-crowd-crush-avoidable/ ↩

  5. Tchechne, Martin (2022). "Nine per square meter" (PDF). Max Planck Institute for Human Development. https://www.mpg.de/19124742/F002_Focus_032-037.pdf ↩

  6. Fruin 2002, p. 6. - Fruin, John (January 2002) [First presented March 1993]. The Causes and Prevention of Crowd Disasters (PDF). First International Conference on Engineering for Crowd Safety (crowdsafe.com ed.). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2021. https://www.workingwithcrowds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/THE-CAUSES-AND-PREVENTION-OF-CROWD-DISASTERS-by-John-J.-Fruin-Ph.D.-P.E..pdf ↩

  7. Benedictus, Leo (3 October 2015). "Hajj crush: how crowd disasters happen, and how they can be avoided". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/hajj-crush-how-crowd-disasters-happen-and-how-they-can-be-avoided ↩

  8. Syed, Armani (31 October 2022). "Why Crowd Crushes Like South Korea's Halloween Surge Are So Deadly". Time. Retrieved 17 May 2023. https://time.com/6226680/how-to-survive-crowd-crush-south-korea/ ↩

  9. Pearl 2015, p. 4. - Pearl, Tracy Hresko (2015). "Crowd Crush: How the Law Leaves American Crowds Unprotected". Kentucky Law Journal. 104 (1). Article 4. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol104/iss1/4 ↩

  10. Pearl 2015, p. 4. - Pearl, Tracy Hresko (2015). "Crowd Crush: How the Law Leaves American Crowds Unprotected". Kentucky Law Journal. 104 (1). Article 4. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol104/iss1/4 ↩

  11. Tchechne, Martin (2022). "Nine per square meter" (PDF). Max Planck Institute for Human Development. https://www.mpg.de/19124742/F002_Focus_032-037.pdf ↩

  12. about 3 or 4 square feet per person ↩

  13. Pearl 2015, p. 6. - Pearl, Tracy Hresko (2015). "Crowd Crush: How the Law Leaves American Crowds Unprotected". Kentucky Law Journal. 104 (1). Article 4. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol104/iss1/4 ↩

  14. 1 square metre is approx. 10 square feet, giving about 2 square feet per each person ↩

  15. about 2 square feet per person ↩

  16. Pearl 2015, p. 7. - Pearl, Tracy Hresko (2015). "Crowd Crush: How the Law Leaves American Crowds Unprotected". Kentucky Law Journal. 104 (1). Article 4. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol104/iss1/4 ↩

  17. Tchechne, Martin (2022). "Nine per square meter" (PDF). Max Planck Institute for Human Development. https://www.mpg.de/19124742/F002_Focus_032-037.pdf ↩

  18. Hill, Tia (27 November 2019). A Crowd Safety Expert Explains Why People Mosh. Genius. https://genius.com/a/a-crowd-safety-expert-explains-why-people-mosh ↩

  19. Sampara, Pete "Kopite". "Kop memories". LFCHistory.net. https://www.lfchistory.net/Articles/Article/38 ↩

  20. Pete "LancashireLad" (22 October 2013). "Humour, loyalty & passion - Memories of the old Spion Kop". This Is Anfield. Retrieved 21 November 2021. https://www.thisisanfield.com/2013/10/memories-old-kop/ ↩

  21. Benedictus, Leo (3 October 2015). "Hajj crush: how crowd disasters happen, and how they can be avoided". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/hajj-crush-how-crowd-disasters-happen-and-how-they-can-be-avoided ↩

  22. Moore, Jack (24 September 2015). "What Caused the Hajj Tragedy?". Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/what-caused-hajj-tragedy-376267 ↩

  23. Haghani, Milad; Lovreglio, Ruggiero (9 December 2022). "Data-based tools can prevent crowd crushes". Science. 378 (6624): 1060–1061. Bibcode:2022Sci...378.1060H. doi:10.1126/science.adf5949. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 36480619. S2CID 254485601. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf5949 ↩

  24. Tchechne, Martin (2022). "Nine per square meter" (PDF). Max Planck Institute for Human Development. https://www.mpg.de/19124742/F002_Focus_032-037.pdf ↩

  25. Benedictus, Leo (3 October 2015). "Hajj crush: how crowd disasters happen, and how they can be avoided". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/hajj-crush-how-crowd-disasters-happen-and-how-they-can-be-avoided ↩

  26. Moore, Jack (24 September 2015). "What Caused the Hajj Tragedy?". Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/what-caused-hajj-tragedy-376267 ↩

  27. Benedictus, Leo (3 October 2015). "Hajj crush: how crowd disasters happen, and how they can be avoided". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/hajj-crush-how-crowd-disasters-happen-and-how-they-can-be-avoided ↩

  28. Benedictus, Leo (3 October 2015). "Hajj crush: how crowd disasters happen, and how they can be avoided". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/hajj-crush-how-crowd-disasters-happen-and-how-they-can-be-avoided ↩

  29. Benedictus, Leo (3 October 2015). "Hajj crush: how crowd disasters happen, and how they can be avoided". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/hajj-crush-how-crowd-disasters-happen-and-how-they-can-be-avoided ↩

  30. Feliciani, Claudio; Corbetta, Alessandro; Haghani, Milad; Nishinari, Katsuhiro (1 April 2024). "How crowd accidents are reported in the news media: Lexical and sentiment analysis". Safety Science. 172: 106423. arXiv:2309.14633. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106423. ISSN 0925-7535. S2CID 262824786. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753524000134 ↩

  31. Haghani, Milad; Lovreglio, Ruggiero (9 December 2022). "Data-based tools can prevent crowd crushes". Science. 378 (6624): 1060–1061. Bibcode:2022Sci...378.1060H. doi:10.1126/science.adf5949. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 36480619. S2CID 254485601. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf5949 ↩

  32. Fahy, Rita F.; Proulx, Guylène; Aiman, Lata (August 2012). "Panic or not in fire: Clarifying the misconception". Fire and Materials. 36 (5–6): 328–338. doi:10.1002/fam.1083. ISSN 0308-0501. S2CID 145326665. /wiki/Rita_Fahy ↩

  33. Haghani, Milad; Cristiani, Emiliano; Bode, Nikolai W. F.; Boltes, Maik; Corbetta, Alessandro (8 August 2019). "Panic, Irrationality, and Herding: Three Ambiguous Terms in Crowd Dynamics Research". Journal of Advanced Transportation. 2019: e9267643. doi:10.1155/2019/9267643. hdl:11343/227617. ISSN 0197-6729. https://doi.org/10.1155%2F2019%2F9267643 ↩

  34. Haghani, Milad; Coughlan, Matt; Crabb, Ben; Dierickx, Anton; Feliciani, Claudio; van Gelder, Roderick; Geoerg, Paul; Hocaoglu, Nazli; Laws, Steve; Lovreglio, Ruggiero; Miles, Zoe; Nicolas, Alexandre; O'Toole, William J.; Schaap, Syan; Semmens, Travis (1 December 2023). "A roadmap for the future of crowd safety research and practice: Introducing the Swiss Cheese Model of Crowd Safety and the imperative of a Vision Zero target". Safety Science. 168: 106292. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106292. ISSN 0925-7535. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753523002345 ↩

  35. Evtushenko, Evgenii (1963). Precocious Autobiography. New York: Dutton. pp. 88–102, quoted in "Mourners Crushed at Stalin's Funeral". Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. Michigan State University. September 2015. http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1954-2/succession-to-stalin/succession-to-stalin-texts/mourners-crushed-at-stalins-funeral ↩

  36. Evtushenko, Evgenii (1963). Precocious Autobiography. New York: Dutton. pp. 88–102, quoted in "Mourners Crushed at Stalin's Funeral". Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. Michigan State University. September 2015. http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1954-2/succession-to-stalin/succession-to-stalin-texts/mourners-crushed-at-stalins-funeral ↩

  37. Fruin 2002, p. 5: "Virtually all crowd deaths are due to compressive asphyxia and not the 'trampling' reported by the news media." - Fruin, John (January 2002) [First presented March 1993]. The Causes and Prevention of Crowd Disasters (PDF). First International Conference on Engineering for Crowd Safety (crowdsafe.com ed.). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2021. https://www.workingwithcrowds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/THE-CAUSES-AND-PREVENTION-OF-CROWD-DISASTERS-by-John-J.-Fruin-Ph.D.-P.E..pdf ↩

  38. Ripley, Amanda (19 January 2009). "How Not To Get Trampled at the Inauguration". Slate. Retrieved 12 May 2009. Article acknowledges traffic engineer John J. Fruin and G. Keith Still of Crowd Dynamics Ltd. http://www.slate.com/id/2209135/ ↩

  39. Ro, Christine (21 March 2018). "The secret science that rules crowds". BBC Future. Retrieved 14 August 2018. https://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180312-the-secret-science-that-rules-crowds ↩

  40. Ro, Christine (21 March 2018). "The secret science that rules crowds". BBC Future. Retrieved 14 August 2018. https://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180312-the-secret-science-that-rules-crowds ↩

  41. 1 square metre is approx. 10 square feet, giving about 2 square feet per each person ↩

  42. Ripley, Amanda (19 January 2009). "How Not To Get Trampled at the Inauguration". Slate. Retrieved 12 May 2009. Article acknowledges traffic engineer John J. Fruin and G. Keith Still of Crowd Dynamics Ltd. http://www.slate.com/id/2209135/ ↩

  43. Benedictus, Leo (3 October 2015). "Hajj crush: how crowd disasters happen, and how they can be avoided". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/hajj-crush-how-crowd-disasters-happen-and-how-they-can-be-avoided ↩

  44. Mosia, Lebohang (7 November 2022). "A survival guide to avoiding asphyxiation in a crowd crush". Independent Online (South Africa). https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/health/a-survival-guide-to-avoiding-asphyxiation-in-a-crowd-crush-fed3851d-2824-442b-8fd7-4162a54b5db6 ↩

  45. Stoner, Sarah (13 June 2008). "Children's deaths that shocked the world". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 21 June 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080621023341/https://www.sunderlandecho.com/daily/Children39s-deaths-that-shocked-the.4183073.jp ↩