Video captures horrifying moment man knocked down by freak wave at Sydney beach

Horrifying footage has captured the moment a man was knocked down by a freak, tsunami-like wave at a popular Sydney beach.

A terrifying video has emerged of the moment a Sydney man was knocked off his feet by a rogue wave at a popular beach.

The incident occurred at Manly lagoon in Sydney’s Northern beaches over the weekend, as wild weather caused hazardous surf conditions at beaches across the city and along the east coast.

The video shows a man calling out to his kids to run to safety as the freak wave washed across the lagoon on Saturday.

“Boys, come back quick,” the man can be heard yelling as the wave builds.

Meanwhile, another male beachgoer also attempts to outrun the tsunami-like wave but is unable to flee in time, with the footage showing him knocked off his feet by the swell.

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The man was knocked off his feet by the huge wave. Picture: Facebook/Manly Living

The man is swept along and can be seen clinging to a bench for safety, while children at the scene can also be seen running from the wave.

He eventually frees himself and can be seen walking to safety.

“I hope he’s all right,” a man filming the incident can be heard saying in the short clip.

The wild waves also caused several boats and dinghies to be swept away in Sydney over the weekend, with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing a surf warning for NSW’s coast on Saturday and Sunday.

“Surf and swell conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, and swimming,” the BOM warned.

The promenade of iconic Bondi Beach was also hit by huge waves on Saturday morning, with the famous Bondi Icebergs pool rendered invisible by the intense conditions.

University of New South Wales Professor Rob Brander, a coastal geomorphologist in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences and the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, said the unusual situation was sparked by several factors.

Residents watched huge waves crashing into rocks at Bondi Beach on Saturday. Picture: Muhammad Farooq/AFP

“The recent large swell and resulting beach erosion along Sydney’s coastline was caused by a number of factors,” he said.

“We’ve already experienced multiple storm and erosion events over the last few months due to La Niña, leaving beaches depleted of sand. This most recent event triggered a significant storm surge with higher water levels reaching much higher than usual due to the strong onshore winds coupled with a low pressure system.

“The sudden destructive uprushes of water we witnessed were examples of ‘infragravity waves’ (or ‘sneaker waves’ in other parts of the world).

Large waves crash across Bondi’s Icebergs pool as the NSW coast continues to be inundated by wet weather and threatened with more floodwaters. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

“These infragravity waves are generated by large storm waves that release immense amounts of energy into the surf zone. The danger of infragravity waves is their unpredictability.

“Once in the surf zone, these waves can fluctuate – both in ‘force’ and ‘frequency’ – on the order of minutes. One minute, these waves will recede from the shoreline with pronounced backwash, lulling beachgoers into a false security, before shifting in the next minute to sudden and dangerous uprushes.

“Infragravity wave surges occur during all wave conditions but are amplified during storms – the bigger and messier the waves, the stronger and farther the surge rushes up the beach.”

Originally published as Video captures horrifying moment man knocked down by freak wave at Sydney beach