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There is another factor here.....the difference with waves that are 20 or 30 feet high that come into pipeline on the north shore of Hawaii is that the wave is high, but not deep (front to back) It is a narrow peak, looking at it from the side.
The difference with a large tsunami is that the water level behind the wall of water is higher than the water level in front of the wave....it is as if the water is moving in a block, rather than a very large ripple, which is what the average Hawaiin wave is. If you look at a Tsunami from the side, it would look more like a step up, than a narrow peak. This is why the water just keeps moving inland like a sudden flood, as apposed to just breaking on the shore like a normal wave.
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