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From a Daytona newspaper:

It's been 10 years since the attack of the 'rogue' wave
Staff report

This summer marked the 10th anniversary of a freak event in Daytona Beach that received international coverage.

No, we're not talking about Richard Petty dropping out of the Pepsi 400 race after only 82 laps.

On July 3, 1992, at about 11 p.m., a huge "rogue" wave rolled out of a calm ocean and crashed onto the beach, swamping hundreds of cars parked near the Boardwalk and sending frightened late-night beachwalkers scurrying for dry land.

The cause of the jumbo wave has never been officially explained, but theories ranged from an offshore weather system and underwater methane gas "burp" to nuclear submarines stationed off the coast to protect the President of the United States -- who was coming to town for the NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway.

Witnesses reported that there appeared to have been two or three waves with the main one up to 18 feet high. The surge hit the beach and washed over cars, smashing windows and pushing some vehicles into other cars.

"It was the strangest thing I've ever seen," said John Kirvan, who at the time was Volusia County's chief beach ranger.

Vacationer Roy Bennett was at the Boardwalk with his wife playing video games when they decided to walk down to the beach. As they walked, Bennett told a newspaper reporter, "I saw this huge wall of white water. It was real quiet."

Bennett said he and his wife ran for their lives. "If we hadn't run, we'd have been pinched in between cars," he said, "or cars would have been on top of us."

The first plausible explanation for the errant wave came from an oceanographer who said he believed an underwater landslide was the culprit. A few days later, however, he changed his mind, saying he believed an unusual combination of weather conditions may have triggered it.

Others theorized the giant wave resulted from a meteorite (or perhaps even a flying saucer) crashing into the ocean, an explosion of some kind, or clandestine maneuvers by a nuclear submarine.

President George Bush's July 4 visit to Daytona International Speedway fueled the nuclear sub theory espoused by some, who recalled reports that U.S. subs were stationed offshore when President Reagan was in Daytona Beach on July 4, 1984, for NASCAR's Firecracker 400 race (Richard Petty won that one).

Destination Daytona tourism officials reported they fielded several out-of-state calls from people who asked, "Does this happen often?" and "Has the beach been washed away?"

The rogue wave received international publicity, especially in sensational tabloids. "Thousands Terrorized" screamed a headline in the Daily Mail of London.

The 11 o'clock surprise prompted numerous tongue-in-cheek letters to the editor of The News-Journal, including one from "All Shook Up" who suggested the wave was punishment to the "sinful populace" that was declaring "allegiance to a false king" -- referring to race car legend "King" Richard Petty, who was driving in his final Daytona Beach race that weekend. The wave of wrath, wrote All Shook Up, was a warning from "The True King, Elvis."

Another reader, W.F. Hood, had the final word: "Everybody knows it's Godzilla."