Notes :
strike ～を襲う;
prediction 予言;
devastation 荒らすこと，荒廃（状態）;
day off 休日;
city［the city 集合的に］その市の（全）市民，住民;
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In 1923 Raffaele Bendandi predicted that on January 2, 1924, a major earthquake would strike Italy. He was wrong – by two days. It struck on January 4, killing 30,000 people.
Bendandi died in 1979 leaving many other predictions. One such prediction was for the 11th of May 2011, in Italy, in which he predicted total devastation. Because of this many Italians took a day off. On that day, however, no earthquake occurred and the city slept peacefully. In Spain on the same day however an earthquake hit a small town killing 9 people – it was the worst earthquake in forty years. (by Prof. Simon Smith)
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