At least 150 people died in a Halloween crowd crush in Seoul. When media outlets first broke the news, the tragic event was first described as a “stampede,” but it’s now described as a crowd surge or crush. What are the differences?
A crowd crush is comparable to a stampede in that both are dangerous scenarios involving large groups of people. But they are different in the way the danger ensues.
In a stampede, people have space to run or walk hurriedly. This sporadic movement is what puts the group most at risk. But in a crowd crush, people have little room to move around—if any room at all—and they’re likely to be squished together.
“In most of these crowd crush scenarios, it’s a very, very slow movement that causes a problem,” Michael Molloy, MCh, MSc, vice-dean of the faculty of sports and exercise medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, located in Dublin, told Verywell. “Stampede is a misnomer in the whole concept and that it implies speed, and it almost implies a little bit of blame on the individuals affected by it.”
I – Word Understanding
Sporadic – uncommon / irregular
Misnomer – wrong or inappropriate name/term
II – Have Your Say
1, It’s been a while since the Itaewon crowd crush happened.
Let’s recall how you felt and what was your reaction the first time you heard about it.
2, Has there been any similar incident that happened in your country?
What was done after that to avoid it from happening again?
3, How do you personally feel about being in a crowd? What do you usually do to stay safe?
