You know what freaks me out themost
Is that in many of these pictures the waves never look that big, especially in the distance, but the force they bring and amount of water they force upon the shores is so devastating.
None of the people in most of the shots seemed very concerned about the wave coming at them, then the water keeps coming and before anyone knows it there's a lot more to be concerned about, and then what appears to be the moment of realization.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/200.../2002188307.jpg
This is the 1st picture where the wave hitting the shore actually looks tremendous, but in most other shots and video it just seems like a bigger then normal wave that just doesn't stop rolling.