Surviving a Suicide Bombing
Where you stand matters:
The two researchers have developed accurate physics-based models of a suicide bombing attack, including casualty levels and explosive composition. Their work also describes human shields available in the crowd with partial and full coverage in both two- and three-dimensional environments.
Their virtual simulation tool assesses the impact of crowd formation patterns and their densities on the magnitude of injury and number of casualties of a suicide bombing attack. For a typical attack, the writers suggest that they can reduce the number of fatalities by 12 percent and the number of injuries by 7 percent if their recommendations are followed.
Simulation results were compared and validated by real-life incidents in Iraq. Line-of-sight with the attacker, rushing toward the exit and stampede were found to be the victims’ most lethal choices both during and after the attack.
Presumably they also discovered where the attacker should stand to be as lethal as possible, but there’s no indication that they published those results.
Vaguely baffled • March 26, 2009 8:42 AM
Is it just me?
If I knew in advance that somebody in a crowd was a suicide bomber-to-be, then I don’t think I’d be working out where the best place to stand was, relative to them. I’d be getting the hell out of there.
By the time you’ve discovered they’re about to go pop, you are where you are.