On Nov. 5, 2021, eight people were killed and numerous others were injured while attending Travis Scott's Astroworld festival in Houston.<br />NPR reports that the tragedy has raised questions about crowd safety.<br />While emergency staff and organizers are responsible for ensuring a safe environment, individuals can still take extra precautions.<br />NPR asked Mehdi Moussaïd, a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, for tips to stay safe in crowds of people.<br />Moussaïd, who studies crowd behavior, says the most important thing is to keep your eyes open for danger signs.<br />He cites crowd density as a key factor and advises anyone who feels uncomfortable in a growing crowd to just move away.<br />According to Moussaïd, it's also important to stay on your feet. Falling in a large crowd is dangerous, as it can be very difficult to stand back up again. <br />Maintaining sufficient space to breathe is also crucial.<br />He advises holding your arms out in front of your chest, which gives you enough room to push for space to breathe.<br />Moussaïd suggests going with the flow when the crowd pushes and not pushing back.<br />Avoid walls and other obstacles, which can be extremely dangerous in crowd situations.<br />If you can feel people touching you on both shoulders, the crowd density is becoming dangerous.<br />If you have time and space to move, get to safety.
