On November 23, 1980, an earthquake equivalent to 10 degrees on the Mercalli scale struck two regions of Southern Italy: Campania and Basilicata. Its epicenter was identified in the area of Colliano. The destruction caused by the earthquake extended to 7 provinces and affected 685 communities distributed over an area of 23,570 Km with a population of approximately 4 million. The material damages ascertained —not counting the consequences to industrial, agricultural and commercial activity—amount to approximately 17,000 billion Italian lire. In terms of the medical sector, 3 regional hospitals (722 beds) and 20 smaller hospitals were totally destroyed; another 16 hospitals (for a total of 9,495 bedsl suffered varying degrees of serious damage. In economic terms, the damage sustained by the medical structures amounted to 88 billion lire.