Tsunami

When I was in Japan, I often heard the word "tsunami" because, of course, Japanese people speak Japanese. I was surprised to hear it in the U.S., and I still can't figure out how and when it entered the English language. Here's some information about what a tsunami is:

"Tsunami is a Japanese word; 'tsu' meaning harbour and 'nami' meaning wave. Tsunamis are sometimes incorrectly called tidal waves but have nothing to do with tides...A tsunami is different from normal waves on the ocean. Wind-made ocean waves cause the water to move down to about 150 metres at most. In contrast, the passage of a tsunami involves the movement of water all the way to the seafloor."

Also, if you want to read about what's happening in Asia, you can go to The Bangkok Post (news from Thailand), LankaPage (news from Sri Lanka), and The Jakarta Post (news from Indonesia, though the site might still be blank).