[Muzzle_em]

In retrospect, we regard those people as idiots, but looking at the waves, they don't look THAT ominous. I've seen pictures of surfers in Hawaii on MUCH scarier looking waves. Not until you see them engulfing the boats do they look like something potentially scary. The tourists just don't realize that when those waves get to them, they are STRONG and followed by a whole LOT of water that is going to continue pushing inland. They probably thought the waves would stop at the shore. I'm betting the woman and family did not make it. SAD.

[Lazamataz]

In retrospect, we regard those people as idiots, but looking at the waves, they don't look THAT ominous. I've seen pictures of surfers in Hawaii on MUCH scarier looking waves. Not until you see them engulfing the boats do they look like something potentially scary. The tourists just don't realize that when those waves get to them, they are STRONG and followed by a whole LOT of water that is going to continue pushing inland. They probably thought the waves would stop at the shore.

Zactly. They just don't look as dangerous as they are.

[Brilliant]

I suspect that the pictures you see were taken from places that did not get hit so hard. The photographer survived.

[DK Zimmerman]

I'm no expert, but I understand that tsunamis do not appear threatening while over deeper water. Indeed, to someone out on the ocean, it appears as little more than a swell. When it hits shallower areas, however, it rises in height and becomes destructive. From the pictures, this stretch of beach appears to be fairly shallow for quite a ways.

[SolutionsOnly]

I have nothing but harsh words for armchair quarterbacks and their 20/20 hindsight. Tsunami's are way outside the realm of the familiar. By the time one can finish uttering the words 'What is going on?' - it's too late. Things simply happen too fast, the distances to safety too great.

[cornfedcowboy]

I agree. Thosde waves don't look that intimidating. I suppose though that the closer the waves get the taller they become because they are hitting shallow water. Wow!

[Steve_Seattle]

"In retrospect, we regard those people as idiots, but looking at the waves, they don't look THAT ominous. I've seen pictures of surfers in Hawaii on MUCH scarier looking waves."

That was absolutely the same impression I had when I first saw video of these waves; compared to waves I've seen during surfing competitions, these waves didn't look that ominous. As you say, the difference was that these waves didn't break on the shore, but kept coming. And even a five or six foot wave can have an enormous pull. My guess is that the folks in these pics were all sucked out to sea.

[SuziQ]

The tourists just don't realize that when those waves get to them, they are STRONG and followed by a whole LOT of water that is going to continue pushing inland. They probably thought the waves would stop at the shore. I'm betting the woman and family did not make it. SAD.

Exactly. Everyone is used to the picture of waves that reach a peak, then break and roll on in. Needless to say, very few expected this to happen.

In Sri Lanka, they just don't GET tsunamis, so most did not realize the warning provided by the water receding as it did. They just thought it was interesting to see all the stuff that was uncovered when the water went out.

We heard on the news that one hotel manager in Thailand knew about this phenomenon, ans when he saw the water going out, went out and got ALL of his hotel patrons off the beach. He saved their lives!

[rwfromkansas]

The second wave is the killer one.......notice there are two waves. In other places, people were not really scared by the first wave. It was the second wave...and by then it was too late.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

I think people would have been surprised at the size of the waves and the noise and also the fact that the water had receded, but they may not have realized that it was indeed a tsunami.

The thing with this tsunami is that the power behind the wave is so incredibly strong. Most big waves usually break before the shoreline. These tsunami waves just keep on rolling in with devastating force. The people who died and who have been injured by this disaster would have had no idea of the force that was about to strike them.

Even if you were a "Tsunami-Aware" person you may have been blissfully swimming in the sea and still been swept away by the force of the waves.Imagine being there at that time and place.

[Space Wrangler]

Miraculously, this woman and her entire family lived. She was interviewed on Fox over the weekend, and said that the first wave was not as strong as the ensuing waves, and served to push her and her family inland before the second and most devastating wave hit. She said that the entire family was actually re-united between the first and second wave. Amazing.