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