Classification of types of panic
Panic
One of the most dangerous psychological states of the crowd, requiring certain organizational measures to prevent their development, is panic. Panic– it is one of the most visible and politically important forms of mass mob behavior.
Panic is an emotional state arising as a result of either a lack of information about some frightening or incomprehensible situation, or, on the contrary, as a result of its excess and manifested in impulsive actions. Accordingly, on the basis of panic, panic crowds with specific behavior arise.
In the generally accepted sense, “panic” is precisely understood as mass panic behavior. The origin of the term also reminds of this: the word "panic", almost identical in many languages, comes from the name of the Greek god Pan, the patron saint of shepherds, pastures and herds. His anger was attributed to "panic" - the madness of the herd, rushing into the abyss, fire or water for no apparent reason. “Starting suddenly, this madness spread with frightening speed and drew the whole mass of animals to death. The fleeing crowd is a typical case of panic behavior. Numerous cases of panic behavior outside the crowd are also known, for example, stock market panic ... Sometimes these cases are defined as panic agiotage, which refers to mass excitement, accompanied by feverish activity aimed at getting rid of a possible danger.
Research shows the following character traits panic:
1) a stampede is always directed away from danger (no attempts are made to somehow influence the onset of danger);
2) the direction of flight during panic is not accidental - a familiar road is chosen or the one that the majority moves on;
3) asocial stampede - the strongest ties can be interrupted (mother can leave the child, husband - wife, etc.);
4) a panicked person does not think well, he always believes that the situation is extremely dangerous (the stampede will stop as soon as the person begins to think that he is outside the danger zone).
The crowd can only stop the strongest emotional brake. There are cases in history when a strong-willed person managed to stop a distraught crowd. Among the means are ardent persuasion, categorical commands, and even the execution of alarmists (resolute suppression of the instigators of panic is recommended, including physical).
Conditions for the emergence of mass panic:
A) socio-situational (general environment mental tension, causing a state of anxiety, expectation of difficult events). The likelihood of the development of mass panic moods and panic actions increases during periods of exacerbation of the current situation. When people are anticipating some kind of event, they become especially susceptible to all kinds of frightening information.
b) general psychological(fear, lack of information; unexpectedness of a frightening event, strong mental excitement, extreme surprise).
V) physiological conditions(fatigue, hunger, intoxication). Fatigue, hunger, alcohol or drug intoxication, chronic lack of sleep, etc. weaken people not only physically, but also mentally, reduce their ability to quickly and correctly assess the state of affairs, make them more susceptible to emotional infection and, due to this, reduce contagiousness exposure thresholds, increasing the likelihood of mass panic.
There are two main points that determine the occurrence of panic.
1. is mainly associated with the sudden appearance of a threat to life, health, safety, for example, in the event of a fire, explosion, accident, etc.
2. can be associated with the accumulation of the corresponding "psychological fuel" and the operation of the "relay", a certain mental catalyst. Prolonged experiences, fears, accumulation of anxiety, uncertainty of the situation, perceived dangers, adversity - all this creates a favorable background for the emergence of panic, and any event can be a catalyst in this case. Panic can be caused not only by a strong fright, fear, but also manifestations that are absolutely safe in essence, for example, sounds, words, someone's behavior, some signals that have nothing to do with the expected dangers. Military psychologists among the causes of panic among soldiers and officers call the general moral condition, low level of discipline, lack of authority among commanders.
The emergence and development of panic in most of the cases described is associated with the action of a shocking stimulus, which is distinguished by something obviously unusual (for example, a siren announcing the beginning of an air raid). Rumors are a common cause for panic. It is known, for example, that in the summer of 1917 Russia had one of the most abundant harvests. Nevertheless, in the fall, famine broke out in the country. He was promoted by mass panic, which was caused by rumors of an impending famine, she literally devastated the stalls, barns and bins.
The occurrence of panic or general spontaneous aggression, the cause of which may be general hysteria provoked by a mass protest, or fear caused by a fire or other disaster; or an overly emotional football match and much more, can turn a large number of ordinary people into a crowd that is capable of sweeping away and destroying everything in its path. Any mass event is a source of increased danger.
Panic can be classified by scope, depth of coverage, duration and destructive consequences.
ü By scale distinguish between individual, group and mass panic.
When group And mass panic, the number of people captured by it is different:
- group - from two or three to several tens and hundreds of people (if they are scattered),
- mass - thousands or more people. Mass panic should be considered when in a limited, enclosed space (on a ship, in a building, etc.) it covers the majority of people, regardless of their total number.
ü Under the depth of coverage refers to the degree of panic infection of consciousness. In this sense, we can talk about mild, medium panic and panic at the level of complete insanity.
· slight panic can be experienced when transport is delayed, in a hurry, a sudden, but not very strong signal (sound, flash, etc.). At the same time, a person retains almost complete self-control, criticality. Outwardly, such a panic can be expressed only by slight surprise, concern, muscle tension, etc.
· Medium panic characterized by a significant deformation of conscious assessments of what is happening, a decrease in criticality, an increase in fear, and exposure to external influences. A typical example of a medium panic is buying up goods in stores when fair or fictitious rumors circulate about price increases, disappearance of goods from sale, etc. Medium-level panic often manifests itself during military operations, during small transport accidents, fire (if it is close, but not directly threatening), and various natural disasters.
· Complete panic (panic at the level of complete insanity) - panic with a blackout, affective, characterized by complete insanity - comes with a feeling of great, mortal danger (obvious or imaginary). In this state, a person completely loses control over his behavior. He can run anywhere (sometimes right into the hotbed of danger), rush about senselessly, perform a wide variety of chaotic actions, deeds, absolutely exclude their critical assessment, rationality and ethics. Classical examples of complete panic are the behavior of people on the ships "Titanic", "Admiral Nakhimov" (in the latter case, the speed of events did not allow panic to unfold "at full power"), as well as during war, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, etc.
ü By duration panic can be
- momentary panic(seconds and several minutes) is, for example, a panic in a bus that has lost control, etc.
- Long enough(tens of minutes, hours) there is panic during earthquakes that are not deployed in time and are not very strong.
· prolonged panic(several days, weeks) - this is a panic during long-term military operations, for example, the blockade of Leningrad; after the Chernobyl accident.
In cases of panic, as well as mass spontaneous behavior in general, a special role is played by rhythm. Spontaneous means unorganized, devoid of an internal rhythm of behavior. If there is no such "pacemaker" in the crowd itself, it must be set from outside. A case that took place in the 1930s became widely known. after the end of one of the mass rallies at the Winter Velodrome in Paris. People, rushing to the exit, began to crush each other, and everything was ready for a tragic end. However, a group of fellow psychologists happened to be in the opening of the stairs, who, realizing what could now begin, began to chant loudly and rhythmically, which later became famous: “Don’t-push!”. The chanting of this slogan-order was instantly picked up by the majority of those present, and the panic stopped.
The episode with the fire at the Paris Grand Opera is also known, when the crowd was also ready to rush out of the smoking building, sweeping away everything in its path, but was stopped in an unusual way. Several desperate daredevils, standing up to their full height in one of the boxes of the second tier, began to yell (it was difficult to call it singing) National anthem. After a few seconds, neighbors began to join them. Gradually, the rest began to, if not sing, then still stop - after all, it was the national anthem. As a result, the theater met, as always, the late firefighters with the performance of the anthem, to which the firefighters also joined. Then people were taken out, and the fire was extinguished.
The role of rhythmic and, separately, choral rhythmic music is of great importance for the regulation of mass spontaneous behavior. For example, she can get it organized in seconds. It is no coincidence that subbotniks and Sundays, demonstrations and other mass or pseudo-mass actions of the Soviet era greeted people with bravura, marching, incendiary music. The role of choral singing of soldiers on the march is known. It is no coincidence that most of the revolutionary songs written in different times, different people in different countries, have a similar rhythm. Chilean Venceremos, american We shall overcome the French "La Marseillaise" or the Polish "Varshavyanka" - the rhythm of all these songs, along with the corresponding content, was a kind of means of confronting fear and panic in acute situations.
How to survive in the crowd? The best remedy- bypass the crowd.
What if it's not possible? Social psychologists make a few simple recommendations, how not to become a victim of the crowd:
in no case do not go against the crowd;
if necessary, cross the crowd (cross it tangentially or diagonally, while following the movement of the checkered piece);
Do not look into the eyes of people in the crowd and do not move with your eyes down on the ground (moving with your eyes down is the movement of the victim). The gaze should be directed just below the face with the inclusion of the so-called peripheral vision. This view will allow you to keep track of the whole situation without fixing on individual details.
Specialists distinguish two types of crowd behavior: on the street And in room. In many ways they converge, but there are nuances.
Many rules are universal, because fully refer to the beginning of the very situation "crowd". At a concert, a stadium, think in advance how you will exit (not necessarily the same way that you entered). Try not to be near the stage, locker rooms, etc. - in the center of events. Avoid walls (especially glass), partitions, mesh. The tragedy at the stadium in Sheffield (England) showed that most of the dead were crushed by the crowd on the barrier walls.
In a confined space (at a concert or other mass event), when danger arises, people suddenly start looking for salvation at the same time, that is, they want to get out of this room. In the vast majority of cases, this happens randomly. Especially active are people who are far from the exits. They begin to press with all their might on those in front, and as a result, most of the "front" are pressed against the walls. There is a stampede, as a result of which, in the most direct sense, very many people can be (and are) crushed between a stone wall and a wall of human bodies.
IN enclosed space:
Remember the exit points and the paths to them, because those who know where the nearest exit is are more likely to escape.
It is especially important to rush to the exit before the crowd starts to move. However, when the crowd full force, an attempt to move through its thickness can have the most Negative consequences, so the most reasonable thing to do is to wait until the main stream subsides. Rushing into narrow passages when the crowd has already gained strength is permissible only in the event of a fire, which also spreads very quickly, or when, as a result of the extensive combustion of plastic materials and coatings, a “gas chamber” forms in the hall.
Beware of walls and narrow doorways. To do this, you need to try:
· get into the "mainstream", which, however, is also unsafe;
Return a little back, where it is still freer;
· try to lie on top of the stream of people and, rolling or crawling in a plastunsky way, make your way to a less crowded place. This is especially true when saving children: often this technique is the only hope. A child simply will not be able to survive in a distraught crowd of adults, if only because of his height. Therefore, if you have the strength, it is better to put the child on your shoulders and move on like this. Or two adults can, facing each other, create a kind of protective capsule for a child from their bodies and hands.
If it is impossible to wait, then rush into the crowd, but with your head, but at the same time, you must empty your pockets as much as possible (even better - completely), since almost any object with enormous pressure in the middle of the crowd can cause serious injury not only to yourself, but and any of the people around. It is necessary to remove from oneself long, too loose clothes, moreover, equipped with metal parts, as well as everything that can squeeze the neck, i.e. jacket lacing, tie, medallion on a cord, pectoral cross on a chain, any jewelry and bijouterie. Throw away your bag, umbrella, etc. Hands should not be pressed to the body, they should be bent at the elbows, fists pointing up, then the hands can protect the chest. You can also clasp your palms in front of your chest. These actions will protect your chest from squeezing.
So, in the crowd in the room NECESSARY:
Remove jewelry, ties, scarves, lace shoes into knots.
Enter the crowd at the beginning, where people are sparse, or from above, over their heads.
Use the emergency exit.
Avoid places of greatest pressure narrowing, ledges, dead ends.
IT IS FORBIDDEN:
Pour into the crowd from the side.
Bend down, pick up lost items from the floor.
Rules of conduct in crowded places (on the street):
The basic rule is every possible exception to the possibility of involving yourself in the crowd. If you must be in a large group of people, follow these rules:
Do not take children with you;
Do not take sharp (piercing, cutting) objects with you; don't wear a tie and scarf; it is better not to take bags, folders, briefcases;
It is advisable to wear shoes without laces and high heels;
Clothing should be made of strong fabric, you need to fasten it with all buttons (zippers) so that it fits snugly around the figure;
Do not take posters on poles unless absolutely necessary - they can be used as weapons. As a weapon, they can also be regarded by police officers;
It is advisable to remove various symbols from your clothes;
If you are not a correspondent, then do without a camera and a movie camera;
Try to be in close proximity to the exits from crowded places, located on the edge, not in the thick;
Take your identification documents with you.
As the street crowd approaches NECESSARY:
Quickly go to the side streets and alleys, including through the passage yards.
Go to the entrances and climb to the roofs of houses.
If the entrances are closed, break the windows of the first floors and enter the entrances through the apartments.
In extreme cases, climb onto the peaks of capital buildings, other stable elevations.
! IT IS FORBIDDEN:
Run away from the crowd in the direction of its movement.
Go into dead-end, narrowing and dug up streets.
In the moving crowd NECESSARY:
Avoid places where crowds come into contact with buildings. Showcases, fences, drainpipes are especially dangerous.
Swim in a general direction, trying to stay on your feet.
Remove scarves, ties, chains, glasses.
Tighten belts, belts, tightly tie shoelaces.
! IT IS FORBIDDEN:
Try to resist.
Grab onto stationary objects, especially cuddle up to them.
Bend down, straighten shoes, pick up lost things. Falling in the crowd is equal to death!
In the "compressed" crowd NECESSARY:
Get rid of bulky things and items in your pockets.
Protect the chest with your hands.
Raise the kids above the crowd.
! IT IS FORBIDDEN:
Raise your arms above your head, as you can die from chest compression.
Lower your arms down, as they will be impossible to pull out.
You can not stop and try to lift anything - life is more expensive! Also, no injury should cause a stop.
The main task in the crowd is not to fall. If you do fall, try to get back on your feet as quickly as possible. At the same time, do not lean on your hands (they will be crushed or broken). Try to stand on your soles or on your toes at least for a moment, and then, abruptly pushing off the ground with your feet, “emerge” (see Fig. 1). It is necessary to get up exactly in the direction of the movement of the crowd. If you can’t get up, curl up in a ball, protect your head with your forearms, and cover the back of your head with your palms.
If there are still people in the crowd who have not lost their heads and are able to protect children and women, then it is quite possible to organize joint actions and sooner or later get out of the dense crowd. To do this, line up in a wedge, inside which you place children and women, after which, pushing the scattered people around, drift to the side.
You can drift through the crowd like a ship on a river. Evaluate the direction in advance and purposefully move along it.
Rice. 1. Technique of rising in the crowd when falling
If it is impossible to get up, curl up in a ball; protect your head with your forearms and the back of your head with your palms. (see figure 2)
Rice. 2. The position of the body in the crowd when it is impossible to rise
A CROWD is a mass gathering of people.
The crowd is chaotic, although not without some organization. The organizing factor can be a common object of attention, a tradition, an event.
Crowd members are often in a similar emotional state. The crowd is described by a number of parameters and characteristics, such as the number of people gathered, the direction and speed of movement, psychological condition and others.
Main psychological picture crowds:
Increased emotional background (shouts, calls, etc.).
Decreased ability for individual thinking (blind obedience to the leader).
The calls of the leader or the appearance of the object of hatred.
(People will obey or smash only when doing so)
A decrease in aggression and evaluation of what is happening by people occurs after the goal is achieved.
First blood, first stone in the window - takes the crowd to a new level of danger. Such crowds should be avoided.
CROWD PSYCHOLOGY.
Very often, the crowd becomes more dangerous than the natural disaster or accident that formed it.
However, she is not looking alternative solutions and does not see the consequences of his decision, sometimes the main ones, as in a case typical of fires: a jump from a doomedly high height.
Categorical commands can stop the crowd,
ardent belief in the absence of danger and even the threat of execution of alarmists, as well as the strongest emotional brake or miracle.
In the crowd, personality and feelings disappear, and the thoughts of individuals are smoothed out. A person becomes easily controlled and suggestible,
cannot fully control their emotions and actions.
The boundaries of the crowd are very mobile,
as a result, the situation of people is constantly changing, often against their will and desire.
So, just a curious person can suddenly find himself in the center of the crowd as a result of joining it. new group of people.
Panic usually begins with a cry: "Keep calm."
Explosion, gases, fire, and the crowd begins to rush about.
The main thing is not to succumb to its influence. In this situation, your protector is the mind.
HOW TO BEHAVE IN THE CROWD.
Any mass gathering is fraught with very dangerous consequences.
If precautions are not followed, serious injury can result.
As statistics show, the largest number of victims in the event of riots and terrorist acts is observed in crowded places.
People, being in a crowd, in the event of an emergency, endanger their health, and sometimes their lives.
Therefore, it is very important to know the following basic rules of safe behavior in the crowd:
***
Always avoid the crowd.
Strange as it may seem, crowds are even more dangerous in the street than in closed spaces.
No need to approach out of idle curiosity to find out what's going on.
If the crowd blocks your way, it is better to find a workaround.
***
Once in the crowd by chance, in no case do not be indignant, and even more so do not behave aggressively.
Even if you fundamentally disagree with the ideas of the audience, this is not the place to state your point of view.
Such behavior can provoke aggression and lead to very sad consequences. Therefore, it is better to pretend that you share the convictions of the audience, if necessary, you can even support some slogans, while trying to calmly and leisurely leave the crowd.
***
The mood of the crowd must be felt and predicted. With one eye you need to look at the crowd, and with the other - constantly seek cover on the scene.
***
If the crowd is dense but motionless, you can try to get out of it using psychosocial tricks, for example, pretending to be sick, drunk, crazy, pretending to be sick, and so on.
***
The most dangerous place in the crowd is on the edge. People are just smeared on the walls. Any protrusion can be fatal.
***
If you find yourself in a crowd and are forced to move in a mass of people, remember:
A fall will likely result in you being trampled.
To avoid this, zip up and tuck in your clothing so you don't get caught on anything.
If you have any items with you (umbrella, bag) - it is better to press them to the body.
In a critical situation, they generally need to be disposed of without regret, life and health are more important.
If you are squeezed with a child, drop all unnecessary items (bag, backpack, etc.). In a crush, they will cling, and because of them you can fall.
In a dense crowd correct behavior the probability of falling is not as great as the probability of being crushed. Therefore, protect the diaphragm with your clasped hands, folding them over your chest.
Pushes from behind should be taken on the elbows, the diaphragm should be protected by arm tension.
If the crowd stays still, you need to turn around so that with two neighboring people form a triangle with your shoulders: this will save you a little space for the movement of the chest.
***
The crowd lives according to its bestial laws. She does not know pity, and it is impossible to agree with her.
To survive in an aggressive crowd, you need to notice the danger in time.
This is fairly easy to do if you can identify features explosive crowd.
Let's call these signs: the same, carbon copy gestures and movements for most people, the movement of people from the center to the edges of the crowd and vice versa, if the crowd as a whole is standing, the presence of a leader or speaker.
** It is urgent to get out of such a crowd, acting and observing the following ALGORITHM:
1. "Separate yourself from the crowd." The crowd erases all the individual and personal characteristics of a person. Each of its members becomes a simple "cog" in the general flow. This is a normal action of the infection mechanism. Don't let him lead you. To get out of the crowd, you must first free yourself from the behavior imposed on you. Constantly ask yourself: “What do I feel?”, “What am I doing?”, “Am I moving or standing?”, “Am I expressing my state with my voice?”, “How do I do it?” questions like these will help you get out of the psychological trap of the crowd.
2. Manage others. To maintain calm in the crowd, you need only 1.5 - 2% of people who are calm, not involved in the general behavior of people. True, these people must be psychologists. But for a person who finds himself in an aggressive crowd, it is enough to find a common language with his closest neighbors. To do this, you need to try to call them to calmness.
3. "Keep on the flow." The crowd flows like water. It is almost impossible to stop its movement. She will bypass any natural obstacles: a bus, a flower bed, a monument, even if several people have to be sacrificed for this. Therefore, the most dangerous places in the crowd are the edges.
4. "Get out diagonally." You need to get out of the crowd strictly diagonally, smoothly moving from the center to the edge. But at the same time, you cannot be on the very edge. Try to separate from the main stream by running into the nearest lanes, streets, shops and cafes.
5. Throw away sharp objects. In a stampede, any object with sharp edges can cause injury or even death. Therefore, as soon as you find yourself in a crowd, immediately say goodbye to the contents of your pockets. Throw away all sharp objects. Try to press your hands to your chest and keep them in this position, this will protect your chest from possible injuries.
6. "Build a boat." If you get out of the crowd on your own fails, cooperate with the neighbors and "build a boat." This is done like this: men form a quadrilateral and stand on its sides. Inside the “boat” there will be weaker ones - children, women, the elderly. Accordingly, you need to choose a captain who will steer the "vessel" and indicate safer places. Crew members must unconditionally comply with all the commands of the captain. Only in this case, the “boat” will be able to swim to the shore, i.e. get out of the crowd.
Remember: Protect your chest.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - DO NOT FALL!
Get up by any means.
Don't spare personal items.
None of them are worth your life.
Ignore the pain.
Dodge everything that is stationary on the way, otherwise you can simply be crushed, smeared.
Do not cling to anything with your hands, they can be broken.
If possible, zip up.
High heels can cost you your life, as can an untied shoelace. Throw away your bag, umbrella, etc.
If you managed not to succumb to the crowd, then you are already half saved. If you decide to run away from a place of danger, remember: this makes sense if you are in the forefront and the aisles are free.
Never keep your hands in your pockets.
In the event that YOU still could not resist and FALL - do not panic.
Shouting and asking for something around is usually useless.
But if you still - fell, then you need to protect your head with your hands and immediately get up.
This is very difficult, but it can be done if you use this technique: quickly pull your legs up to you, group up and try to stand up with a jerk.
It is unlikely that you will be able to get up from your knees in a dense crowd - you will be constantly knocked down. Therefore, with one foot you need to rest (with a full sole) on the ground and straighten up sharply, using the movement of the crowd. But, nevertheless, it is very difficult to get up, preliminary protection measures are always more effective.
* In cases IF TEAR GAS HAS BEEN APPLIED, hold a handkerchief, scarf, piece of cloth to your face and breathe through it.
If possible, close your eyes.
In no case do not rub the skin, and the eyes with your hands, this only enhances the negative effect. After getting out of the affected area, rinse the exposed skin and eyes with running cold water.
* IF THE CROWD BEGINNING TO BE DISSOLVED BY THE SILOVIK - do not give in to panic.
Try to get out of the line of movement of the running people.
Do not make sudden movements, do not shout about your innocence, it is useless.
If there are police officers (police) nearby, raise your hands and in no case do not resist. In a fever, you can get a good baton.
In case of detention, behave calmly, put off indignation and explanations until the proceedings at the police station.
So let's recap
Don't join the crowd, stay away from it
if you are still in the crowd, then it is better to be in a safe part: away from stands, garbage containers, boxes, the center of the crowd, from glass windows and metal fences;
in the event of unrest, panic, you need to take off your tie, scarf, free your hands, bend them at the elbows, press them to the body, covering the vital organs, fasten all buttons and zippers, get rid of high shoes;
get out of the crowd, according to the algorithm described above.
the main thing is to stay on your feet, in case of a fall, you should curl up, protecting your head, sharply pull your legs under you and try to stand in the direction of the crowd;
do not approach groups of people behaving aggressively;
do not react to the skirmishes taking place nearby.
REMEMBER that the crowd intuitively "takes" to the right, so there will be fewer people on the left and it will be easier to get out there.
If the panic started due to a terrorist act, do not rush to exacerbate the disorder with your movement: do not deprive yourself of the opportunity to assess the situation and make the right decision.
REMEMBER: don't panic - get organized!
So, you are sitting relaxed in a chair at a movie theater or at a concert, and suddenly an emergency occurs. The same external factor. Fire, explosion, armed aggression of a group of terrorists or just screams about fire, explosion or aggression. The people in the auditorium were dumbfounded at first, then moved, swayed towards the exits, creating the preconditions for a crush and a flea market.
The rear ones, afraid to be the farthest from the saving door and closest to the danger (which is often not even seen), pressed the front ones. The front ones ran into the walls, a crush and a flea market formed. What an exact word - crush. Neither add nor subtract. Of course, you are confused and frightened - the transition from relaxation to threat was too sudden. I really want to jump up and run along with everyone, no matter where, if only from here. And here you are wrong. It is very important where, and even more important when.
If you decide to run away, then try to be the first, while the passages are still free, while the bulk of people are still getting out of the rows of chairs, while they have not yet turned into and remember the norms of universal morality, did not use their elbows and fists. Then this morality will be crushed, crushed and trampled underfoot by thousands of feet. Your main task is not to be in the tidal wave that has gained strength. If you did not have time to get into the first ranks of the fleeing people and if there is no obvious danger, try to wait until the main stream of fleeing subsides. I know it's hard not to give in. How is it - everyone is running, and you are waiting for something. It's a shame! Still, try to subdue your fear.
In a huge number of cases, the jostling of masses of people in narrow passages is much more dangerous than the very threat that caused the panic. Only in one case does it make sense to put your life in danger by rushing into a panicking crowd - during a rapidly spreading fire. Before the throw, get rid of all piercing, cutting, glass and simply voluminous objects protruding from pockets that can hurt you and those around you. There are so many cases when the victims were cut with their own keys or scissors protruding from a cosmetic bag.
Imagine for a second what will happen to your ribs if your plump notebook or wallet is pressed into them with great force. At the very least, the bones will withstand uniform pressure, but point pressure is not always. And if between the same ribs a ballpoint pen, which has stood across as sharp as a dagger, enters the body? In short, do not be greedy, drop your things, in extreme cases, remember where you left them, then, when everything is over, you will return and find it. Take off your glasses if you don't want them pressed into your eyes. Remove the earrings - they will still be torn out in the general turmoil, but already along with the ears.
Get rid of bulky, long, too loose, replete with protruding, clinging details - hooks, buttons, ties, etc. - clothes. Be sure to remove ties, scarves, decorative scarves, chains, beads, crosses on a strong chain from your neck. Such items of your wardrobe in the crowd and the flea market become deadly. It is enough to catch them on some immovable object or a loved one, so that they play the role of a noose that instantly tightens the throat.
It is unlikely that you will be able to pull your hands out of the compressed mass of people in order to ease the pressure of the noose. And even more so, you won’t be able to slow down the movement of this crowd in the flea market in order to remove the scarf from a random nail on the wall. Tie your shoelaces tightly. Everyone usually forgets about this, rushing to the attack of doors. Yes, not on a bow - knit dead knots! If someone in the mass of people steps on your loose shoelace, you can fall, and this is a guaranteed death. And, of course, drop your shoulder bags.
In the crowd, too, must be entered wisely. It is well known that the most dangerous place in the crowd and the flea market leaving the building through narrow doors is on the edge. People who find themselves in the flea market there are sometimes simply smeared on the walls and doorposts in the literal sense of the word. Any ledge, socket, switch, random screw or nail can cut a person dragged along the wall, no worse than a bandit's knife. Therefore, the main task of a person who joins the crowd in a flea market is to get as far as possible from its edge.
This can be done either by going back a little, where it is more rarefied, in order to get into one of the central jets, or by “going over the heads”. Alas, as immoral as this advice is, from the point of view of physical survival, it is absolutely correct. The freest space in the compressed crowd, crush and flea market, naturally at the top. And people in the crowd are so squeezed, so ground to each other that it is possible to walk on them, on their shoulders and heads, as, excuse me, on a cobblestone pavement, to their full height. And there are examples to prove it.
Of course, I don’t call for trampling other people’s tops with heels, but I advise you to “lie down” on the crowd. To do this, you need to jump onto the extreme rows and, like a plastuna or rolling, crawl to the place that you have chosen, and then screw into the mass of people. And if it does not work out, then continue to swim on other people's heads. The only thing I do not promise you is that you will not be disturbed from below by blows, pushes or pinches. But this can be endured, it is not as deadly as rubbing on the walls. Especially this technique can be recommended in cases where you have a young child in your arms.
To drag him into the crowd means to put his life in mortal danger. Children's ribs are not able to withstand such a load as adults, and with strong shocks they can break, which, under conditions of general compression, leads to crushing of the lungs that are not protected by the skeleton and the inability to take the next breath. It is equally dangerous for a child, because of his small stature, to be below, near the floor, where, perhaps, a little more freely, but it is very easy to fall under the heels of thousands of feet walking by. The safest place is overhead. There are cases when mothers simply threw their children over the crowd and thus saved them from death.
Sometimes parents put the child on their shoulders and in this position join the human stream. In a gradually thickening, stony crowd, when the way upstairs is closed, parents should try, turning face to face and resting against each other with arms bent at the elbows and pressed to the body, to place the child between them. The classic and so beloved by painters, photographers and filmmakers pose - a mother clasping and covering her child with her hands from danger - is useless and even dangerous in a crowd and a flea market. The mother will not have enough strength to hold back the pressure of people pushing from all sides with her hands, no matter how hard she tries.
Hands, and indeed the whole body, one should strive to use in such a way that, having accepted the pressure of people on oneself, one should form a relatively safe niche for one's child. It is not necessary to clasp the child, thereby actually depriving him of the opportunity to use the hands pressed to his body, but to put his hands forward, wedging them between the people standing behind and in front. Bones in the longitudinal axis are much stronger than in the transverse axis. This is what should be used. Have time to complete all the preparatory actions: protect the children, take the safest position, get rid of dangerous things, etc. - in advance.
Don't let the initial sparseness of the human stream mislead you. As you approach the exit door, the pressure (due to the funnel effect) will build up. And when you catch yourself, it will be too late, your hands will be tightly pressed to the body. Everything that you can do to save yourself in the crowd, you must do before it is “pressed”. If you are in the forefront of people running away, try to open the second door, if it is locked, before the crowd arrives. Then it will be more difficult to do so.
But still The best way to avoid possible death in the crowd running out of the room and the crush and flea market created - do not fall into it. To do this, do not be too lazy, being in a cinema, a sports palace or a stadium, to outline in advance the ways of a possible withdrawal. I do not urge you to study the emergency evacuation schemes, usually hung out in prominent places on the walls (although this would be very nice, that's why they hang to be looked at), but at least pay attention to the doors you meet on the way, over which hangs “Emergency Exit” sign or a red-colored lampshade is lit.
It has been observed that most people, in case of danger, try to get out the same way that they came. As a result, there is a crush at the entrance doors, while the approaches to the spare ones are quite free. If you know in advance where they are located, you will not have to push your elbows, protecting your right to life with inhuman methods. This is one of the most important rules of survival, which says: when you go somewhere, think about how you will get out of there. It directly concerns both climbers storming a high-altitude peak, and ordinary mortal people who have gone to the cinema for a couple of hours to watch a new film. The rules of survival do not depend on the place of action.
In milder cases of unorganized crowds that can form in crowded places - at concerts, circus performances, sports and similar events, for safety reasons, especially if you are with children, you should avoid spaces near the stage where art fans can arrange spontaneous crush, approaches to the wardrobes, where they race, one after another, rush after the presentation of the crowd of spectators, entrance doors, close stops of public transport. It is better to go outside and get on the bus a little later, but whole, than in the front rows, but with a spoiled mood and appearance.
Based on the materials of the book "School of Survival in Accidents and Natural Disasters".
Andrei Ilyichev.
Every year there are about a hundred shark attacks on humans; about 10% of these cases are fatal. How to avoid the attack of a marine predator? Yes, it’s as easy as shelling pears - do not swim in prohibited places. The human crowd is the same sharks. Over the past hundred years, more than thirty episodes of mass stampede have been recorded, in which from thirty to one and a half thousand people died at a time. Do you want to survive in the crowd? Just stay away.
Anton Farb
It is easy to give advice, but it is almost impossible to follow the advice. We do not live in the steppe or the forest, but in the city and, willy-nilly, we get into the crowd every day at least twice - in the morning and evening rush hours. Subway platform, bus stop, street, any concert or sports match - we are constantly surrounded by many people united by one goal - to be right here and right now.
By itself, the crowd - static, waiting for something or dynamic, moving in a certain direction - in principle, is not very dangerous. But any threat (real or just loudly voiced - “Fire!”, “Bomb!”, “They are coming!”, “There won’t be enough for everyone!”) Can instantly change the situation. A calm crowd instantly becomes aggressive, a static crowd becomes panicked, and a deliberately expressive one becomes almost revolutionary.
Between 1809 and 2015, there were about forty stampedes worldwide with more than 100 deaths and four with close to 1,000 casualties. 1. May 18, 1896: stampede on the Khodynka field (Moscow). Killed: from 1389 to 2000 people. During the festivities on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II, more than 500,000 people gathered. When a rumor spread in the crowd that there would not be enough royal gifts (gingerbread, mugs, sweets) for everyone, a stampede began; distributors, fearing for their stalls, began to throw gifts into the crowd, which only aggravated the situation.
crowd architecture
Before moving on to the dangers that threaten the crowd, let's deal with its architecture and psychology. When looking at a crowd from a bird's eye view - for example, from a camera on a quadcopter - there are three main elements:
1) the core of the crowd is the place where the number of people per square meter reaches a maximum. Most often, there is only one core - the concert stage, the political platform, the edge of the platform; sometimes there are several cores in the crowd - multiple narrow passages, stadium ticket offices, checkpoints;
2) the middle lane is already a crowd, but not yet so dense as to be dangerous; the movement of people in the middle lane mainly occurs towards the core;
3) the periphery, the outskirts of the crowd, where people are just going to join it - or trying to get out of the crowd.
This division, of course, is arbitrary - in a closed space, for example, during a fire in a nightclub, the core can occupy the entire available area.
2. March 6, 1953: stampede at Stalin's funeral (Moscow). Killed: from 100 to 2000 people. The stampede happened during a funeral near Trubnaya Square. All information about her is still strictly classified, so it is impossible to establish the exact number of dead.
It would seem that the safest place is the periphery, but this is partly a delusion. If the crowd is limited by buildings, cars, fences, landscape features, then people located in a relatively rarefied periphery can instantly be crushed by all of the above. The core of the crowd is able to move at a fairly high speed; here you were calmly standing at the wall, but now you are already pressed against this wall by a couple of thousand people at once. Therefore, if you have already managed to find yourself in the crowd, keep to the middle lane - there is more room for maneuver.
Principles of Survival
When moving in a crowd, do not go against the flow of people, this is a pointless undertaking. Keeping to the general direction of movement, take a little to the side, towards the exit, if there is one. Do not push people, they have nowhere to move. It is better to change places with them. While the crowd is relatively calm, use verbal means: "excuse me, please let me through." If this does not help, go to the manual, grab the person by the clothes and pull them towards you, at the same time taking his place, while not forgetting to apologize intensively.
3. October 20, 1982: the tragedy at Luzhniki (Moscow). Killed: 66 people. The largest sports crush in the USSR occurred at the 1/16 UEFA Cup match between Spartak and the Dutch Haarlem. The tragedy happened at the end of the match due to poor organization of the exit from the overcrowded stadium.
If you are not alone in the crowd - but, for example, with a child, a woman, a friend - there is an unpleasant prospect of being torn apart from each other. No "give me your hand" will help. A small child in your arms. If he is old enough - in the “reserve parachute” position: we put him on his chest, let him wrap his arms around your neck, and legs around your waist. We press an adult to the back, with one hand he holds you by the belt buckle or clothes in the abdomen, you control and strengthen this grip with one hand. Equality when leaving the crowd is canceled, one leads, the second follows him, clinging close. So the bodyguards evacuate the protected person. If there is no way to send a friend behind your back, at least grapple with your elbows.
Before you try to get out of the crowd, and even better before you get into it, button up your outerwear and all pockets, tuck a scarf under your jacket, remove the hood, lace up your boots. Hide anything that you can grab onto or get caught on.
4. July 2, 1990: tragedy in a pedestrian tunnel in Mecca. Killed: 1425 people. The largest crush during the traditional Hajj. No hajj is complete without casualties, but 1990 broke all records. In the 45-degree heat, several thousand pilgrims rushed into the cooled tunnel connecting Mecca with the tent camp of pilgrims in Mina. The capacity of the tunnel was exceeded by five times, in addition, many suffocated due to the stopping of the fans.
The main thing - in no case raise a panic, they will do it without your participation. While possible, try to be as polite as possible, do not escalate the situation. In the crowd, a change in mood towards the worse - hit-run-be saved! - happens very quickly. It is not architecture that works here, but psychology.
Psychological effect
All researchers, starting with Gustave Lebon, the author of the fundamental works “Psychology of Peoples and Masses” and “Psychology of Crowds”, reduce the psychology of the crowd to three phenomena: homogeneity, emotionality and irrationality.
As soon as many people gather in one place, there is a contagion effect - the mood or aspirations of a few people are very quickly transmitted to everyone else, like an infectious disease. Mechanical propagation of mood is also found in Everyday life- start yawning, and others will pick up. In a crowd it happens much faster and stronger. Best of all, the effect of infection is formulated by the phrase "everyone ran - and I ran." Man is a pack animal, and the “follow all” algorithm is evolutionarily embedded in our survival instincts.
Sometimes this can work in your favor. Here is how it describes rational use effect of infection Hakob Nazaretyan in the book “Psychology of Spontaneous Mass Behavior”: “Here is a textbook case from the pre-war life of Europe. In 1938, a small fire broke out in the stands of the Paris National Velodrome after the end of the competition. The staff managed to quickly contain the fire, but ten thousand spectators with excessive energy already moved to the only exit. The situation was threatening to become deadly. By a lucky chance, two psychologists were in the crowd, who were able to orient themselves in time and began to chant loudly: “Ne-pousse-pas!” (“Ne-pus-pa!” - Don’t-talk-kay!). The rhythm was picked up by those around him, he waved through the crowd. A few minutes later, thousands of people chanted this phrase in unison; the crowd turned into an expressive crowd, fear and fuss were replaced by general enthusiasm, and everyone safely left the stands.
5. May 30, 1999: tragedy on Nemiga (Minsk). Killed: 53 people. During the Minsk beer festival, it began to rain heavily with hail, and the crowd rushed into a narrow underground passage. There was a crush on the descent; most of the dead are young people between 14 and 20 years old.
Alas, but most people are infected with fear and anger. As soon as someone yelled "Run!" - everyone will run, not quite realizing where and why. Therefore, it is very dangerous in the crowd to try to climb somewhere higher - on a lamppost or the roof of a car. Almost certainly others will immediately climb after you, there will not be enough space for everyone, and you will fall. But to climb under the truck - good idea, will not be pushed out.
Unfortunately, the crowd as a single organism does not possess intelligence, and herd behavior can easily lead people to death. When the crowd panics or shows aggression, the masses of people start moving, which most resembles the flow of water - fast and along the path of least resistance. Encountering an obstacle, the crowd either splits up, bending around it, or tries to overflow over it, as a result of which a stampede begins.
6. November 22, 2010: stampede in Phnom Penh. Killed: 456 people. During the closing of the traditional Cambodian holiday, Water Day, several thousand people gathered on a narrow bridge over the Tonle Sap River. Most of the dead drowned after being thrown off the bridge in the mass stampede.
Don't fall!
There are two main dangers in the crowd - to be crushed or trampled. Both of these threats involve bodily injury of varying severity - from concussion and multiple bruises to spinal fracture, pneumothorax and internal hemorrhages leading to exitus letalis.
The first danger - crushed! - in the language of medicine is called compression asphyxia, or, simply put, suffocation from compression. Unlike classic strangulation associated with damage respiratory tract, with strong compression from all sides, blood circulation is disturbed in a person, venous blood does not enter the lungs, the walls of blood vessels become thinner, pulmonary edema begins; fractures of the ribs, ruptures of internal organs are also possible. According to statistics, more people die from compression strangulation in a crowd than from all other injuries.
7. January 1, 2013: stampede at the Houphouet-Boigny stadium (Abidjan). Killed: 61 people. Crush arose at the exit from the stadium, where New Year's celebrations and fireworks were launched. Most of the dead are children.
How to be saved from this? If you are squeezed from all sides so tightly that it became difficult to breathe, do not try to push those around you and win back your living space - it will not work out anyway. It is better to take yourself with your left hand by the right lapel (or vice versa, this is unprincipled) and put your elbow forward. Now ten centimeters of free space has formed in front of your chest, you can calmly breathe and look for ways to get out of here as soon as possible.
The second danger - they will trample! - associated, of course, with a fall in the crowd. Falling into a running crowd is the worst thing that can happen. Panicked or aggressive people will run right over you, trampling into the ground. Even if someone decides to stop, he will not succeed, the crowd is stronger.
Fall into a fetal position. They rolled over on their backs, hid the spine and kidneys. The chin is tightly pressed to the chest so as not to hit the back of the head on the asphalt. Hands folded in front of the face, knees pulled up to the elbows, legs tightly clenched to cover the groin. It won’t work for a long time, so you need to get up.
In order to stand in a crowd, you need to grab the nearest leg of any person walking on you or near you and begin to climb very quickly and aggressively up this leg, taking into account attempts to shake you back. Climb up like a monkey on a tree. It is possible that this person will fall in the process. Let's hope that he, too, read this article and will be able to stand up.
Swim with sharks
If you know that you are about to get into the crowd, and suspect that this will not end well, prepare in advance. Let someone know where you are going and when you plan to return; specify the time after which you should start looking. Take your passport or a photocopy with you. On a separate piece of paper enclosed in your passport, indicate the phone numbers of your next of kin, your blood type, and any drug allergies. After the mass stampede, emergency hospitals will be overloaded, and you will make the work of doctors a little easier. Before entering the crowd, thoroughly study the area. Where will everyone run? Where could the danger come from? Where can you hide and sit out? Where should you go?
And - most importantly - once in the crowd, do not become part of it. Don't get caught up in the general mood. Avoid the effect of infection. Do not chant or sing. Observe the hygiene of the mind. Picking up mass hysteria is as easy as picking up a haunting song. Constantly repeat to yourself - you need to get out of here, it's too dangerous here!
Remember: the crowd is a place of increased danger. And what does a real ninja do when he feels danger? A real ninja doesn't leave the house. Take care of yourself!
When people come to a concert or any other celebratory event, as a rule, they behave calmly and peacefully, looking forward to a good time. At the same time, without hurrying, they politely let each other pass at the entrance. And as soon as this event ends, everyone immediately leaves their seats and quickly moves towards the exit. As a rule, in this case, there is a large influx of people, a traffic jam is formed. It also happens that the movement of people takes the form of orderly to spontaneous.
In history, there were cases when a large number of people died in spontaneous crowded crushes. A striking example of such tragedies is the coronation of Nicholas II, when a thousand-strong crowd moved to the place of distribution of treats on the Khodynka field. Several thousand people were injured and killed in the stampede. In the people's memory, Stalin's funeral was also imprinted with a monstrous stampede on Trubnaya Square - not only people died in the stampede, but also the horses on which the policemen were sitting.
Rules of behavior in the crowd (1).
If the crowd formed at the normal end of the event, it is usually peaceful. In this case, it is better to just wait until its density is discharged, the flow of people subsides, and already calmly leave the half-empty territory. If you are in a hurry, it is better to go to the exit in advance and be the first to leave immediately after the end of the festive show.
If you suddenly find yourself in a tightly compressed crowd - do not resist movement, try to move away from the center, but do not go completely along the edge, while trying to avoid protruding objects, pillars, columns, glass showcases, as well as standing strollers or pedestals. And do not grab them in any case.
Do not take a large amount of money and valuables with you to crowded events.
Shoes should be comfortable, tight-fitting, and women should wear flat shoes.
If you drop something, don't bend over to pick it up. People following you may trip over you and fall on top of you.
You should not be wearing sharp objects (brooches, protruding hairpins), and you should not wear a tie or neckerchief.
It is advisable not to take children to a mass gathering of people, and if you are already with a child, then take him in your arms or around your neck. Explain to the child in advance, depending on the age, what to do if he gets lost. A small child should know his last name and first name, his parents' names and address, and as soon as his parents are missing, he should loudly call for help. Discuss with an older child the place where you will meet in case you lose sight of each other. The child must know the rules of behavior in the crowd.
You need to know by heart one or two mobile phone numbers of your loved ones in case you lose your phone in the crowd, and suddenly there will be an opportunity to call and tell your family about your whereabouts or arrange a meeting in a certain place.
Rules of behavior in the crowd (2).
The very first and most important rule- Try to avoid large crowds as much as possible. If you failed, then:
When the crowd approaches
necessary:
Quickly go to the side streets and alleys, including through the passage yards;
Enter the entrances or climb the peaks of the entrances;
it is forbidden:
Run away from the crowd in the direction of its movement;
Go into dead-end, narrowing and dug up streets.
If you are still in the crowd:
The main thing that you should not do is to show physical resistance, try to restrain your neighbors, grab hold of random stationary objects, try to slow down the general movement;
In this situation, one should not resist, but try to orient oneself and outline a tendency to move to the side, then, as a rule, the flow itself will carry the person to the periphery;
Group up, straighten your shoulders, spread your elbows, you can put your hands in front of your chest with your fingers interlocked and try to “squeeze out” above the crowd, the most important thing is to protect your chest from squeezing and try not to fall;
Parents should try, turning face to face and resting against each other, with arms bent at the elbows and pressed to the body, to place the child between them (if there is one parent, raise the child above him);
Get rid of sharp, cutting and piercing objects, scarves, ties, chains;
Try, as long as possible, to stand on the ground with both feet - it's more stable, get rid of unstable, high-heeled shoes, do not bend over dropped things;
The main task of a person who has fallen into the crowd is to get away from its edge as far as possible;
If you still fell, group up (pull your knees to your stomach, tilting your head to your chest, grab it with your hands, covering your sides with your elbows), along the way, look for a fulcrum, having found it, try to quickly and sharply rise.
