One of the important issues in the study of large-scale catastrophe: where people are running, panic? To friends, to relatives, to the Church? They hide in shelters or, on the contrary, aspire to open places? This knowledge could help of search and rescue services when searching for the missing. After the tragedy in Haiti, scientists tracked the movements of refugees and made interesting conclusions.

In January 2010 in the capital of Haiti, Port-AU-Prince earthquake of a magnitude of seven points. According to some estimates, this disaster has claimed up to 300 thousand lives and left homeless by almost two million people. In the following days the city has left about 630 thousand inhabitants. The strong tremors were over. Where do fled people are left without shelter, food and water?

It's amazing all the more that the main rescue and humanitarian operations, the international community was carried out in the Port-AU-Prince. The refugees, mostly left to themselves. According to the data, they took sometimes do without things. Someone was walking barefoot or been injured - instinct pushed these people to leave the place of the accident and to seek protection... But where?

Occurred dedicated interesting work conducted working in Sweden scientists Linus Bengtsson (Linus Bengtsson) and Blue Lou (Xin Lu). The authors hope that in the future by learning how to better predict the movement of large masses of people who are in such a desperate situation, rescue and humanitarian missions will be able to help them more effectively.

It turns out, desperate people are running in place with whom you feel emotionally connected. Those who have relatives or friends in another city, going there. For example, many residents of the Haitian capital Port-AU-Prince moved to the center of the country from other cities and villages in search of a better life. Having got in trouble, they rushed home to friends and relatives who remained in the villages of their childhood.

Interestingly, those who did not have this opportunity, could escape in emotionally significant for them. For Haitians with their Catholic traditions were much those areas, where they spent the Christmas holidays. As a rule, there refugee went and after the earthquake.

A month after the disaster, the refugees were gradually return to Port-AU-Prince. According to the researchers, the peak of this trend peaked in April. Scientists believe that the main reason of mass "Exodus back" was the lack of assistance in those areas where the refugees were caught in the. Often they could not even get enough food and drinking water. Might have taken place and the first impulse to seek shelter in the dearest places, and people decided to return to the usual place of residence.

However, colleagues Swedish scientists made important adjustments to such conclusions. According to opponents of Bengtsson and Lou, this research is only true in the situation of lack of care and General panic, as it was in Haiti. In more developed countries, people often go izmest catastrophe together with rescue units in the places prepared for their evacuation, even if they have never been there.

So, for example, happened in the USA during the strongest hurricane Katrina in 2005. Many of the victims have left New Orleans on rescue and transport and special buses, which, of course, drove them in a pre-designated areas.

However, research in any case has a great value. In situations of large-scale disasters often hundreds or even thousands of people remain without support and run away, literally subject primitive instincts. Specialists in disaster psychology note that at the time of the disaster, people lose for a time rational thinking. After a few hours or days people may wonder undertaken actions.

Some go where, in their opinion, they can save themselves from the elements. Bengtsson and Lou well showed that such "safe" places people subconsciously believe the city and the region, with whom they something associates: former place of residence, the place where they had rested, etc. note that not all of these areas can be really safe in a natural disaster situation: who ensures that a tornado or an earthquake will not come to the neighboring city?.. In any case, running back would be worth consulting the recommendations of weather services, and not by the call of the instinct.

Another strategy Holocaust - search in the near geographical landscape of the place that seems to be the most protected from the disaster. During the tsunami or flood people can aspire to higher ground in the earthquake - on open space, and when the storm or tornado - on the contrary, to hide the basement. Often panicking running, simply succumbing "herd instinct", - the same place and all. It is clear that the decision of the crowd may be wrong, not to mention the fact that the panicking crowd able to trample the people.

Interestingly, animals "warning system" about disasters developed much better than humans. Therefore, experts advise to be extremely attentive to the behavior of friars minor, if you, for example, have a rest in a seismic zone. Sharp move large flocks of birds away from water or sudden panic elephants can say that the coming trouble.

Eyewitnesses claim that even in zoos animals begin to rush about in the cell, screaming, trying to escape or hide somewhere when approaching earthquake or giant waves. They say that during the 2004 tsunami in Thailand some tourists miraculously survived only thanks to the elephants, on the backs of which they were sitting. Sensing the approach of the disaster, the animals became unmanageable and fled - and thereby save those who was with them.