I'd argue that genetics is the most powerful force on Earth.
It isnt the height, its the momentum of such an event....
Well yeah, and this is why I'm not really critical of the tourists that somply stood there gawking. The waves don't look all that dangerous. It's what's behind them that is dangerous -- zillions of tons of 60-MPH water.
I'll take that argument. Stupidity is definately the most powerful force on Earth. Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.
Shalom.
The first wave is the smallest of the series, and does not appear too horrible to those on the beach. The trouble is these waves don't have a period between crests of 100 or so yards. They have a period of miles. They just keep coming and coming, like the Misissippi river unleashed. Then when they recede, it's the Misissippi in reverse. The trough between tsunami waves is also staggering, this causes the "suckback" phenomenon between waves with the ocean disappearing for up to a mile depending on the slope of the sea floor.
The folks who survived #1 go down to look for lost family members, or to help rescue folks trapped in debris. They have no idea that #2 is winding up, and will be even bigger. Out of 6 to 10 waves, the middle waves are the biggest. So anyone who stickes around to help after #1 is doomed. I would guess all of the folks in these photos are dead. Most likely, they were running down to fetch loved ones. They died from loyalty and devotion. Who would leave children and run to high ground without them? Thousands probably died this way.
I can understand the tourists' reactions, but how long after the quake did the tsunami hit? Did the authories in those areas move to evacuate immediately after? The experts would have known better than the tourists.