THIS is the frightening moment unsuspecting sunbathers at a popular beach were swept away by a freak wave.
A powerful 11ft wave drenched beachgoers in Brazil as they scrambled to safety.
The speed and height of the freak wave at Leblon Beach in Rio de Janerio was so powerful that sun loungers and umbrellas were uprooted as water reached the road.
Known as a ‘sneaker wave’ or ‘rogue wave’, the freak phenomena is often caused by powerful storms, despite being hundreds of miles away.
As the name implies, the waves can sneak up on beachgoers and catch them off guard.
On the day of the massive wave, a large storm swirled over the Atlantic Ocean, south east of Rio de Janerio.
While the centre of the storm was no where near mainland, it was powerful enough to create large ‘tsunami’ size waves.
US scientific and regulatory agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said: “Sneaker waves are potentially deadly waves that surge further up the beach than expected, overtaking the unaware.
“There can be 10 to 20 minutes of small waves right before a sneaker wave strikes.
“Beachgoers can be swept into the ocean.”
The footage which went viral on X (formally Twitter) showed the wave slowly building in the horizon before crashing on the shore before the camera person loses control of the camera.
One person commented: “The most terrifying aspect of this is your children were just along the gentle shore building sand castles and you were dozing off trying to read a book.”
Another stated: “Hiked the Lost Coast Trail in CA once. My biggest fear with that one was the potential for a sneaker wave.
“In cold water like that, if you get sucked out, you might not get back.”
According to local media, there were no injuries or casualties caused by the freak wave incident, which happened in November 2023.
The viral video moment has recently come to light after tourists in Menorca were swept away by a huge ‘meteo-tsunami’ wave in June.
The freak weather surged onto the port of Ciutadella in Menorca on Wednesday submerging rows of sun loungers under the water.
At least five large meteo-tsunamis with oscillations over three feet were witnessed, say Spain’s national weather agency Aemet.
Footage of the most recent incident shows tourists running across the beach trying to find higher land as the waves start to crash into the shore.
Meanwhile, another freak wave crashed on to the shores of Majorca, where the sea level rose sharply and flooded parts of Puerto Alcudia, on the northeast coast of the popular holiday island.
Aemet weather agency spokesperson Miquel Gili explained that the meteo-tsunami in Majorca was triggered by variations in atmospheric pressure caused by storms.
He said: “Pressure variations affect sea level. If the pressure increases, the sea drops; if the pressure drops, the sea rises.
There was no significant damage caused by the freak weather phenomenon.
Most recently, Majorca was battered by torrential rain, causing travel chaos as hundreds of holidaymakers were left stranded.
