Science (Aug. 6) -- Earthquake shaking is caused by a mixture of seismic waves moving through the ground at different frequencies. High-frequency waves tend to cause the most problems for short buildings, whereas low-frequency waves are more damaging for taller buildings. Kathmandu’s basin of soft sediments helped amplify low-frequency waves, as seen in its destructive effect on taller buildings, says Youssef Hashash, an earthquake engineer at Illinois, and the lead author of a report published last week that documented the quake’s damage to infrastructure.