I’ve always thought this as a kid and I’ve been told it doesn’t work that way but never got an actual explanation
In: Physics
If you are out at sea deep sea a tsunami is not very high but a very wide and fast wave. A ship out there or someone in the water would barely notice it.
When the water gets shallower the wave gets higher and that is what you see when it hit land.
The wave still very long and can go inland many km with water and cover the ground with a couple of meters of water. It will sweep building that is not very strong and everyone else inland.
It will not be just the water on the top that moves inward but down to the bottom. Even if you could stay on the bottom the waves can be so wide that it takes a minute to pass above you.
So if you dive close to the shoe to escape it you will be swept in with the water, if you cant get to the surface you will drown. So the result is not significantly different if you fell in from a building still standing.
Just look at [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aLzg10Vzzw) where the water flows between the houses and sweep everything with it. If you dived in shallow water you would be swept in along all other debris.
You can compare a tsunami to was a regular wave of water. Compare it to what happens if a large dam collapse and a huge amount of water are released. That is likely a lot simpler to comprehend.
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