Recurring tsunami death nightmare

I've been having this recurring dream about tsunamis for years. It started right after the Indonesian tsunami in December 04, and I've been having it on a regular basis (a few times a year) ever since. The setting is different every time, sometimes I am at a beach, or a pool, or high on a cliff dominating the ocean, or even in a submarine, but every single time this is how it goes: I am by some body of water, and I see this huge towering wall of water coming towards me. It is far enough away that I have more than enough time to see it coming, and I just know I am about to die. I never try to run or escape, I just watch it approach and I am filled with the dread and absolute certainty that this is the end. I always wake up right before the tsunami reaches me and I die, and the terror when I woke up used to throw me off for the entire day. I am more used to it now but it is definitely not pleasant. Also, in my first dream the tsunami was called the "white tide", as if that was a known thing. I looked it up and it doesn't mean anything, but in my dream it was the name of it, just like in real life we could talk about tsunamis or tornadoes.
I've read that water dreams can be about new beginnings, but considering I've been having this dream for years I don't think so. Granted I have gotten degrees and moved over these years, but usually on a one year basis my life tends to be quite stable. Does anyone have any idea what this is about? Thanks!!

I'd say that the news story in 2004 scared the hell out of you: the idea that things could be so beyond your control that a natural disaster could strike and there would be nothing you could do about it.

The thing is, dreams are formed entirely around our personal associations with the dream "symbols" in question, and not everyone has the same association with water (or even tsunamis.) So dreaming about something that other people associate with change doesn't mean that your life is actually going to go through a sudden period of upheaval.

I would guess that your brain has associated tsunamis with anxiety about things that are outside of your control. So any time that you're stressed out or feel like you're not in complete control of a situation, BOOM, tsunami dream.

Like I often say to people on this forum: your dreams are just your brain's way of defragmenting its hard drive, and it does that by mixing up all of the day's information with all of the connections that your brain has made with its memories. If you're stressed out or anxious, it dredges up some lovely nightmares to keep you company.