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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
06:48
The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
Published on: January 19, 2019
Dynamics of crowd disasters: an empirical study
Dirk Helbing1, Anders Johansson, Habib Zein Al-Abideen
1Dresden University of Technology, Andreas-Schubert-Strasse 23, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
Summary
Analyzing crowd disaster videos revealed transitions to stop-and-go and turbulent flows, impacting pedestrian dynamics models. These findings help prevent future crowd accidents at mass events.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Sociology
- Disaster Management
Background:
- Pedestrian crowd dynamics are often modeled using many-particle systems.
- Experimental data on crowd panic is scarce due to ethical limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- Analyze video recordings of a real crowd disaster to understand panic dynamics.
- Investigate transitions in crowd flow and their implications for safety models.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of video recordings from the 2006 Hajj crowd disaster in Mina/Makkah.
- Observation and identification of flow pattern transitions within the crowd.
Main Results:
- Identified two sudden transitions: laminar to stop-and-go flow, and then to "turbulent" flow.
- The laminar to stop-and-go transition aligns with bottleneck flow models.
- The transition to turbulent flow, causing dangerous pressure releases, remains poorly understood.
Conclusions:
- Findings challenge existing crowd simulation models.
- Understanding critical crowd conditions aids in organizing safer mass events.
- Insights led to organizational changes improving safety at subsequent Hajj events.
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