Why Water Vanishes Before a Tsunami Hits

When the ocean suddenly drains away from shore like someone pulled a giant plug, run. Don't stop to take photos. Don't collect stranded fish. Just get to high ground fast.

This eerie phenomenon played out along the West Coast recently, after Russia's 8.8 earthquake. Port San Luis in California watched water whip from low to high tide within minutes—a violent preview of what was coming.

The Science of Disappearing Oceans

That vanishing water isn't magic. It's physics, and it's terrifying.

When a tsunami races across the ocean, it's not just one wave—it's a series with peaks and valleys. Sometimes the valley, called the trough, hits shore first. This trough sucks water offshore like a massive vacuum, exposing seafloor that hasn't seen daylight in centuries.