Panic

Panic is an intense and sudden feeling of fear in reaction to a perceived danger. This fear is usually accompanied by immediate flight to escape the perceived threat, whether real or illusory. Panic is commonly understood as the natural response to disasters and life-threatening situations, but this assumption has been contested by numerous disaster researchers who have found little [Page 462]evidence of panic in studies of disastrous events. The calm and orderly evacuation of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, provides a clear example of how people are able to respond effectively in the face of a crisis.

Panic is often associated with impulsive, irrational behavior and reckless action, caused by an inability to think rationally and react logically to a situation due to panic's overriding of these processes. It is considered to be highly contagious, in that the panic of an individual can spread through an entire group, creating widespread fear, confusion, and chaos. Self-interest is often added to definitions of panic, and it is believed that a person panicking may put their own safety before that of others, to the extent of sacrificing or putting others at risk in order to save oneself.

While panic is assumed by the general public to be the natural response to disaster and life-threatening situations, extensive research over more than half a century and in numerous countries supports the notion that panic behavior is actually a very rare occurrence. Even in the devastating and highly fatal cases of the 1942 Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston and the 1979 The Who concert stampede in Cincinnati, researchers have found few instances of actual panic. What is often equated with panic is simply increased fear or stress, which are normal responses to potential or imminent danger and are often necessary states to motivate proper and timely reaction through increased alertness and focus. When under such extreme stress, humans rarely lose control, and actually maintain order, norms, and role relations. In contrast to notions of irrational and antisocial behavior, there is ample evidence for rational responses in crisis situations, and responses to danger are often marked by cooperation and helping behavior.

This was the case in the evacuation of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. Despite the 10,000–15,000 people estimated to be in the towers that morning, approximately 3,000 individuals lost their lives, a relatively small percentage, especially considering the short time period during which evacuation was possible. Ninety-nine percent of the individuals in each tower who were below the level of the plane crashes at the time of impact survived. Many survivors recounted the logical and organized decision-making processes they went through as individuals or in groups before deciding to evacuate. Contrary to the notion that extreme stress overrides thought and decision-making processes, survivor accounts demonstrate that the greater the perceived danger, the quicker people responded by making the decision to evacuate.

During the influenza pandemic of 1918–19, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists were at a loss when it came to treating the sheer volume of patients (left). This Chicago Health Department poster warned sick people to stay away from public places (right)

[Page 463]The evacuation process in each tower was calm and orderly. Despite the narrow width of the stairwells, those descending kept to one side in order to allow rescue workers to quickly ascend the staircases. According to survivor accounts, helping behavior was prevalent during the evacuation of both towers, most often between strangers. Individuals unable to evacuate themselves, such as an asthmatic woman and a woman in a wheelchair, were assisted by others. As they were descending, evacuees passed up bottled water and other essential supplies to those above.

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