2 Answers

It seems reasonable that the lay of the land may affect the local intensity of a earthquake from a specific dirrection. There are many factors involved in such variations. Seems reasonable that the peek of a hill may have greater intensity than a flatland recording. The shape of a hill may seem to foccus and intensify of the earthquake locally. Measuring earthquake at several locations provides intensity, origin and depth of such events. I have been in several quakes involving land movement and structural collapse. Building that are tall often resonate in a quake. This is often measured and examined closely here in California. Tesla built a machine that produced resonant oscillations in the earth and produced dammage to buildings near his lab in New York. Similar effects have occurred here in California as a result of the use of hammer-mills in crushing rock.  

https://mceer.buffalo.edu/infoservice/reference_services/EQaffectBuilding.asp  

Because they live right next to the ocean or they are located right next to the earthquake