Quake death toll tops 8 000

2004-12-26 19:34

Colombo - Over 8 300 people were killed and thousands more were missing on Sunday after the most powerful earthquake for 40 years triggered giant tidal waves that slammed into coastal areas across Asia, swallowing entire villages and wreaking death and devastation in seaside resorts.

The quake, the fifth largest yet recorded measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, struck in the Indian Ocean off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, unleashing tsunamis that hit Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives, Myanmar and Malaysia.

The huge quake erupted a year to the day after a quake in the Iranian city of Bam killed over 30 000 people.

Walls of water up to 10 metres high were reported.

Large numbers of children were reported to be among the victims in India and Sri Lanka, along with many foreign tourists who had flocked to idyllic resorts in Southeast Asia.

Increasing death toll

South Asia was the worst hit region, with more than 5 500 deaths reported across Sri Lanka and India and thousands missing.

But the scale of the disaster's impact on Sumatra, the region closest to the epicenter, was only just starting to emerge, with Indonesia's health ministry announcing late Sunday that the country's death toll had leapt from around 700 to 2 439.

Doti Indrasantra, head of the ministry's Centre for Emergency Preparedness said most of the casualties were in Sumatra's northern Aceh province, with 1 400 dead around the main city of Banda Aceh.

Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared the earthquake a "national disaster".

Aceh, is currently closed off to foreign media and aid agencies due to a long-running separatist conflict.

The Sri Lankan government also declared a state of disaster as at least 3 225 people.

Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who is in London, was expected to cut short her holiday and return home.

Indian officials said about 2 300 people were dead across south India and the Andaman Islands.

Tourist hot spots

Thailand officials said meanwhile at least 310 people were killed and more than 5 000 injured in the south of the country.

The nation's top beach attractions were among the worst-hit as waves swept scores of people out to sea, drowned snorkellers, sank boats and shattered buildings along the coast.

The popular resort of Phuket and the idyllic island of Phi Phi were devastated by the huge waters.

Phuket's major beach town, Patong, was flooded and all shops, kiosks and hotels along the beach were damaged. Some were washed away by the waters that carried away debris and tourist "tuk-tuk" taxis.

A senior police official said up to 50 people were killed on Phi Phi.

British tourists on the tiny island of Ngai said holidaymakers were given no chance when the tsunamis struck.

In Malaysia, 29 people were drowned and many others were missing after tidal waves hit two resort islands, officials said.

- SAPA