Crowds

"Simply pushing harder within the old boundaries will not do"
- Karl Weick

One chapter in the book, The Unthinkable, that was new to me was the physics and logic behind crowds. Many years ago at an outdoor Papal mass in St. Peter's square in Rome, my little sister was nearly trampled beneath nuns eager to reach the communion that was being distributed. Dangerous crowds can occur anywhere that people gather: outdoor festivals, in a ticket line, the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, football stadiums, swimming in sacred rivers.

The physical force of a crowd can be terrifying. The author states that with less than one square yard each, persons lose control of their own movement and are at the mercy of the jostling and pushing of a crowd. Although we fear falling and being trampled, the leading cause of death in crowds is asphyxiation. The pressure from all sides makes it impossible to breath and people die while standing. It takes as little as five people to supply a killing pressure resulting in loss of consciousness in 30 seconds and brain death within six minutes.

What makes a crowd dangerous is lack of communication and pushing. If a door becomes blocked or jammed, those near the door are crushed as those further away keep pushing towards perceived freedom. To save lives, persons with loud and authoritative voices need to take charge and turn the crowd around to an unblocked exit. Calm the crowd and insist on no pushing.

Bottom Line Avoid the middle and leading edge of a crowd. To escape gently move sideways to the outer edge of a crowd. Never push and insist on no pushing.

If you fall down, pull yourself up into a ball and protect your face, ears and internal organs. You will be a smaller object that can be avoided and you will receive less damage if you are stepped on.