[wtc911]

There is nothing “puny” about a six foot tsunami. It is not like a surfable wave with a six foot face it is a six foot high wall of churning water that could push inland for a mile or more, even over land with higher elevation.

[RayChuang88]

Here's the issue: the tsunami wave that will hit the leeward side of the Hawaiian Islands first will be a continuous surge of water anywhere between five and seven feet high that could last for 30-40 minutes. That's like a storm surge from a hurricane, and it will literally scour the shoreline clean.

It was that action that caused so much horrible damage on Banda Aceh on the west end of Sumatra in 2004: a 20-foot high surge of water that lasted for a long period of time, literally scouring that town flat and killing over 100,000 people.

[califamily4W]

A 5.9 ft (1.79m) tsunami has been confirmed to have struck Hiva Oa of the Marquesas Islands.
5 minutes ago via web