Crowd Control and Disaster Management

1. Crowd Control and Disaster Management Prof. Ravi Sinha Civil Engineering Department Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

2. Crowd Disasters (since 2005) • Wai, Maharashtra (~150) – Jan. 2005 • Tehran, Iran (~35) – Feb. 2005 • Gandhawa, Pakistan (~32) – Mar. 2005 • Baghdad, Iraq (~1000) – Aug. 2005 • Beni Suef, Egypt (~32) – Sep. 2005 • Chennai, TN (~42) – Dec. 2005 • Mecca, Saudi Arabia (~76) – Jan. 2006 • Jamarat Bridge, Saudi Arabia (~363) – Jan. 2006

3. Missions of Crowd Management • Temple visit should be a religious experience and not survival training • Spontaneous visits with reasonable waiting time should be feasible • Visit should be completed with reasonable comfort • Temple ambiance should be pleasant

4. Background • Major religious temples are daily visited by a very large number of devotees • The number of visitors is rapidly increasing • Devotees typically include a mix of very young, youths, adults and senior citizens • On special occasions, the number of visitors can be several times higher

5. Crowd Control Issues • Mix of visitors – age, physical fitness, gender • Religious sensitivity – religious functions follow stringently laid-out procedures • People have limited capacity to wait without losing patience • Waiting devotees expect reasonable comfort

6. Crowd Control Issues • Large congregations have high probability of crowd control problems • Medical requirements of sick devotees • Special requirements of very young, old and infirm devotees • VIP visits on auspicious days • Stampedes and crushes • Attractive target for terrorist attacks

7. Crowd Control Strategies • Evaluate temple capacity, inclusive of all waiting areas considering reasonable waiting time – compare with requirement • Shorten duration of religious procedures for faster turn-around • Carry out crowd congestion analysis – identify bottlenecks in crowd movement

8. Crowd Control Strategies • Quick exits with proper and well-lit signage • Adequate space in waiting areas to reduce claustrophobia • Forced ventilation in waiting areas to prevent heating and air-quality deterioration • Multiple queues for different types of visits (inside Sanctum sanctorum, outside Sanctum sanctorum, other deities only, premises only, etc.)

9. Crowd Control Strategies • Meditation areas in temple segregated from crowd movement areas • Crowd safety training to employees – implement active and passive surveillance • Improve access to temple premises from outside – alter location of flower and offerings shops

10. Terrorism – Crowd Control • Limit crowd density and crowd size in any room/enclosure • Provide quick exits in all enclosures • Use fire retardant paints, decorations etc. to avoid secondary disaster • Regulate/limit un-queued crowd movement during periods of large congregation

11. Crowd Control – Future Issues • Very few temple premises are large enough for the rapidly increasing visitors • Redesign crowd movement circuits • Redesign waiting halls/enclosures • Increase size of temple premises through acquisition of adjoining areas • Improve use of IT tools

12. Disaster Management • Anticipate disasters in temple premises: • Stampede and crush • Fire • Power/ventilation system failure, etc. • Terrorist attack • Earthquakes

13. Disaster Management • Develop consequence scenario for each disaster • Consider time of day • Consider season/weather, if relevant • Assess requirements of special groups (children, old visitors, medically unfit visitors, etc.)

14. Disaster Management • Plan for each possible disaster scenario • Reduce impact (adverse consequence) if possible • Prepare for adverse consequences • Train employees and partners (particularly police) on disaster management plans – include simulation during training

15. Remember … • Disaster in a high congregation area CAN and WILL occur • Consequences can be mitigated through prior planning • Develop crowd control strategies • Develop disaster management plans • Implement training and simulation

16. Thank You !!