Measures Taken To Prevent Another 'Astroworld' At Tortuga Music Festival

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Despite the recent tragedy in Houston, fans at the Tortuga music festival say they've escaped the cold and snow to see their favorite music stars.

Rock the Ocean Tortuga, the 3-day music festival, is expected to attract roughly 30,000 people a day.

It is back in business after Covid kept it from happening for close to 2.5 years.

Fort Lauderdale police and fire are in force providing security and making sure safety is maintained.

A move that, sadly, came too late for nine people at Travis Scott's recent Astroworld concert in Houston the victims trampled to death.

"Simply put, a failure to monitor and manage the crowd in front of the stage, that simple," said Paul Wertheimer, Crowd Management Strategies Founder.

Wertheimer said a perfect storm of potential problems is in play for live events, right now, like Tortuga, including overly exuberant fans who've been stuck inside too long because of Covid, coupled with nationwide staffing shortages.

LiveNation, which promoted Astroworld, is the same company in charge of Tortuga,

Wertheimer said, "they know how to run an event correctly if they want to, they've got the resources and the contacts to do so."

"The fans here are confident they're in safe hands."

The crowd safety expert said he's always worried about alcohol and people trying to sneak in weapons.

In this case, the ocean itself is also a concern. He said if you feel unsafe that's a biological response and means you should find your way to the exit.