news worldnews europe italy 8508390 ----- # Spain earthquake: Rome earthquake rumour sparks mass exodus ## As the earthquake hit Spain, one in five residents of Rome stayed off work and children were kept out of school over earthquake fears following a 1915 prediction by seismologist Raffaele Bendandi that "the big one" would strike on May 11, 2011. ![Shops with signs reading 'Closed for serious family reasons'][1] Shops with signs reading 'Closed for serious family reasons' in the Chinatown district in Rome Photo: REUTERS [![Barney Henderson][2]][3] By [Barney Henderson][4] 11:41PM BST 11 May 2011 Thousands of Romans fled the city and shops were shuttered over quake fears, despite officials insisting they cannot be predicted and special programmes running on Italian state TV calling for calm. "I'm going to tell the boss I've got a medical appointment and take the day off," said barman Fabio Mengarelli. "If I have to die, I want to die with my wife and kids, and masses of people will do the same as me." Over 20 tremors did strike Italy on Wednesday, but it was in Spain, around 800 miles to the west, that a devastating quake struck. Bendandi is said to have predicted several earthquakes which hit Italy during the last hundred years before his death in 1979 and the panic on Wednesday was fanned by Facebook, Twitter and text messages. Bendandi believed movement of plates and therefore earthquakes were the result of the combined movements of the planets, the moon and the sun and perfectly predictable. ## Related Articles * [Eight dead as earthquake hits southern Spain][5] 11 May 2011 * [Europe's deadliest earthquakes][6] 12 May 2011 * [Spain mourns earthquake victims][7] 13 May 2011 In 1923 he predicted a quake would hit central Italy on January 2 the following year - he was wrong by two days. [X][8] Share & bookmark Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz [What are these?][9] * Share: [Share][8] [ ][10] [ ][11] [Tweet][12] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8508390/Spain- earthquake-Rome-earthquake-rumour-sparks-mass-exodus.html Telegraph ## [Italy][13] * ### [News »][14] * ### [World News »][15] * ### [Europe »][16] * ### [Spain »][17] * ### [Barney Henderson »][3] In news [![Sicily's Mount Etna bursts into life once again, sending ash and lava into the air and molten rock flowing down it's slopes. ][18] ][19] ### [Mount Etna spews lava][19] [![Pope John Paul II in pictures][20] ][21] ### [Pope John Paul II][21] [![Silvio Berlusconi and the 'bunga bunga' parties in pictures][22] ][23] ### [Berlusconi's 'bunga bunga' parties][23] [![Silvio Berlusconi has ridiculed claims by Italian prosecutors that he paid 33 women for sex in a matter of months][24] ][25] ### [Silvio Berlusconi's women][25] [![Amanda Knox truth may never be known][26] ][27] ### [Trailer for Amanda Knox film released][27] [X][8] Share & bookmark Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz [What are these?][9] Share: * [ ][8] * [ ][10] * [ ][11] * [Tweet][12] * Advertisement ![][28] Advertisement [Follow The Telegraph on Social Media »][29] Like Telegraph.co.uk on Facebook Advertisement sponsored features Loading News Most Viewed * TODAY * PAST WEEK * PAST MONTH 1. [3.5 minutes of terror: Air France crash dropped at 10,000 feet a minute][30] 2. [Royal wedding: a peek into royal couple's honeymoon paradise][31] 3. [Councils spend 100m on taxpayer-funded credit cards][32] 4. [Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge wreck reveals secrets of the real Pirate of the Caribbean][33] 5. [President Obama’s top ten insults against Britain – 2011 edition][34] 1. [O'Bama? Oh puh-lease!][35] 2. [Rapture: the end was not nigh, after all][36] 3. [Cannes 2011: Peter Fonda encourages his grandchildren to take up arms against President Barack Obama][37] 4. [Apocalypse not right now: 'Rapture' end of world fails to materialise][38] 5. [Michelle Obama fights to control summer dress in windy London][39] 1. [Joe Biden opens his mouth about US Navy SEALs][40] 2. [Royal wedding live][41] 3. [Italians evacuate Rome over 'big one' fears][42] 4. [Osama bin Laden dead: Blackout during raid on bin Laden compound][43] 5. [Kate Middleton's family take action over nude pictures 'betrayal'][44] [EDITOR'S CHOICE »][45] ### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][46] [![Gil Scott-Heron][47]][46] Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary on the black American experience. ### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][48] ### [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][49] ### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][50] ### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][51] Advertisement Classified Advertising * [World Travel][52] * [Property][53] * [Shopping][54] Loading var puffs_8120657 = new Array();