The Physics of Crowds

Headline from today's Wall Street Journal -

Dozens Killed in Israeli Stampede

The Physics of High-density Crowds -

Highly technical academic lecture on crowd dynamics, but pay particular attention to 'density wave' (1:55)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOIJQFGZKJ8

9 Quick Tips to Survive In a Crowd -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EXEdnil93k

The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AWGVYpAaQc

No #1 lesson to survive crowds = don ´t be where there are huge crowds.

Yeah, Hillsborough was awful.

All the measures put in to prevent hooliganism backfired and caused more death & injury than the hooligans ever would.

This is fascinating information. Thanks! I don't really see myself in that situation but the psychology is a valuable tool -- and the practical approches. Notes taken.

Sadly, this happens with increasing regularity.

Not always possible when escaping from a building in a normal situation. In a nightclub or confined outdoor concert situation, the situation is worsened because of the density of the crowd. I also recall an incident in Britain where the crowds had to escape a fire but a barrier fence impeded their ability to flee in the most natural direction - out on to the field. There have been several notable night club fires where the density in combination of restricted access to exits compounds the problem.

2ndly people tend to try to leave via the same exit they came in instead of a more immediate exit. 3rd people tend to want to find each other in a crowd so they can leave together, not knowing that they are simply compounding the problem by milling around, fighting the flow of the people and causing traffic blockages. And 4thly, what is worse is the lone person separating from his personal group to "go check things out, assess, and return".

People might be stupid in a normal situation but in a crowd they are absolute idiots.

Yeah, re idiots thing.
In marches (protest and the like) virtually no one knows the intended route. So you have people following strangers in front of them, and so on til the front of the march.
So its possible a small group can insert themselves into the very front and influence where the march goes.

Back when I used to have to go to business meetings in unfamiliar buildings I would spend a few minutes scouting out the fire exits.

Similarly, when checking in to a hotel, I would go to my room and then walk down the hall to the fire exit, counting the number of doors (because you may have to crawl to it in a smoke filled hallway).

It looks as though another crowd tragedy has occurred in Houston's AstroWorld at a music concert with eight (8) dead and many injured.I saved the above information when it was first presented and shared it with my Family. I will continue to share it with everyone that I know in hopes that it helps someone, somewhere.Thanks brandtb for the information.

From news reports, it looks to be a case of 'crown crush' resulting in asphyxiation, rather than trampling of those who have fallen (which is a less common cause of death in crowd situations).