Who are we ?

We are researchers from the universities of Sussex, Nottingham and St. Andrews. We are doing work funded by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council (ESRC) on behaviour during emergencies.

Our aim is to produce a better understanding of such behaviour and thereby improve public safety in the event of any future such emergency.

If you need help or need to talk to someone:

Call the July 7th Assistance Centre, 0845 054 7444
(Open 10am-8pm every day for anyone affected by the bombings)

Click here for links to more organisations who can provide support.

How people behave during emergencies

We are conducting research into the ways in which people respond when emergencies happen. We have been looking at people's responses to crushes at pop concerts, how people behave during disasters and what people do when a fire breaks out crowded place.

Do people panic ?
Do people ignore others and just look out for themselves ?
Is it every person for themselves ?

Or rather are people more orderly, more helpful and more co-ordinated in their response ?

We are particularly interested in how people responded to the bombs that went off in London on Thursday, 7th July 2005.

Were you involved in the events in any way ?
Were you evacuated from a tube station ?
Were you asked to leave where you were ?
Did you hear, feel or see any of the bombs ?

If so we need your account.

Please click here if you have a story to tell us.

'We have also recently designed a questionnaire that looks at people's emotional responses and degree of coping since July 7th and the role of support networks, both formal and informal in these processes. We hope that this will help develop theory and practice in the area of treating stress and trauma after disasters. If we get enough responses we plan to publish it as a paper in an influential medical journal, such as the Lancet or British Medical Journal, so your responses may help advance knowledge in the area of diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as PTSD.

Please click here if you wish to fill it in online.
Please click here if you wish to download a Word version.