Updated

A photographer captured a huge wave as it suddenly overtook an Oregon beach, sending people scrambling to safety.

KING-TV reported Saturday on the "sneaker wave," which gets its name from its unpredictable nature.

Steve Raplee said he recorded the video not far from the restaurant he owns in Charleston, roughly 100 miles southwest of Eugene, on the Pacific Ocean. It's unclear when it took place.

“Uh oh, time to go here,” he says as the wave roars in. The camera shows him dashing to higher ground.

Everybody got out safely, including a boy who had walked toward the water with his small dog, Raplee said.

Scientists tell The Oregonian they're still working to understand how sneaker waves work. They say rocks could produce feedback that suddenly changes a wave's intensity and direction.