Learn about the development of technologies designed to protect buildings from earthquakes and tsunamis, in this NOVA Next article. For more than 2,000 years, people have been trying to protect man-made structures from natural disasters. One new idea, a “seismic cloak,” would “hide” buildings from earthquakes. Rows of deep, narrow holes drilled around the buildings’ base could deflect seismic waves. Other ideas include forests of aluminum rods to absorb a wave’s energy during an earthquake and carpets of rods jutting out of the water to redirect liquid waves during a tsunami. Though these experimental ideas are still in development, they could protect highly vulnerable facilities like nuclear power plants. This resource is part of the NOVA Next Collection.