Why does the ocean recede prior to a tsunami? Where does the water go?

Question

Why does the ocean recede prior to a tsunami? Where does the water go?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Imagine you hold a bed sheet at the one end with both hands. You wave it up and down to replicate the way an ocean works. The higher you make your waves you will notice the shorter the sheet will appear until your hands touch the ground and the sheet may overshoot the pillows.