Can animals sense an impending tsunami?
Animals anticipation of disasters has often been reported in history. Our misunderstanding of the phenomenon leads to a certain denial of its effectiveness, and it is not clear to what extent the survivors embellish afterwards the so-called sixth sense of animals around them.
In any case, many people witnessed unusual animal behaviour before tsunamis, and even earthquakes. The 2004 Indian Ocean devastating tsunami is a good example: elephants fled to high ground in Sri Lanka and Thailand; wherever the tsunami was about to reach the coast dogs ran up to the hill tops, and refused to go to the beach with their owners; in India and Sumatra, flamingos flew to higher ground.
Animals may get scared by the sound of the wave approaching, or by micro-tremors generated by the tsunami. In any case, an unusual animal behaviour in your vicinity should always be taken as a warning.