In the Italian journal Il Piccolo, of October 8, 1978, Geo Malagoli observed:

“Our generation lives in a dangerous period of high seismic activity, as statistics show. In fact, during a period of 1,059 years (from 856 to 1914) reliable sources list only 24 major earthquakes causing 1,973,000 deaths.

[Chart on page 7]

Chart III

Earthquake Deaths

(Estimation based on 1,122 years)

Up to 1914​—1,800 a year

Since 1914​—25,300 a year