Asian tsunami kills 12,300, many more homeless (26-12-2004)

Updated: 2004-12-27 08:04

More than 12,300 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless after a powerful undersea earthquake unleashed giant tsunami waves that crashed into the coasts of south and southeast Asia.

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra early on Sunday was the biggest in 40 years.

The world's biggest earthquake in 40 years hit southern Asia on December 26, 2004, unleashing a tsunami that crashed into Sri Lanka and India, drowning thousands and swamping tourist isles in Thailand and the Maldives. [Reuters]

An unidentified man salvages his household items after they were washed away by tidal waves at the Marina Beach in Madras, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004. [AP]

A general view of the scene at the Marina beach in Madras after tidal waves hit the region. Disaster struck just after dawn as a huge earthquake in Indonesia sent tsunamis crashing westwards. [AFP]

Thai government officials said at least 392 bodies had been retrieved and they expected the final toll to approach 1,000.

NO WARNING SYSTEM

In Los Angeles, the head of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said U.S. officials who detected the undersea quake tried frantically to get a warning out about the tsunami.

But there was no official alert system in the region, said Charles McCreery, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's center in Honolulu.

"It took an hour and a half for the wave to get from the earthquake to Sri Lanka and an hour for it to get ... to the west coast of Thailand and Malaysia," he said. "You can walk inland for 15 minutes to get to a safe area."

"We tried to do what we could," he said. "We don't have contacts in our address book for anybody in that part of the world."

The earthquake, of magnitude 8.9 as measured by the U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites), struck at 7:59 a.m. (1959 EST). It was the world's biggest since 1964, said Julie Martinez at the USGS (news - web sites).

The tsunami was so powerful it smashed boats and flooded areas along the east African coast, 3,728 miles away.

In the Maldives, where thousands of foreign visitors were holidaying in the beach paradise, damage appeared to be significantly more limited, according to initial reports.

Country	Affect area	Peoples died reports
Indonesia	17,000 island	4,500 peoples had died
Banda Aceh	The capital aceh province 200 prisoners escaped from jail	3,000 people killed
Sri Lanka	All over country Worst disaster to hit Sri Lanka	4,500 people died Over 1 million pollution 5% population
India	Southern India	3,000 people died
Malaysia	Penang area	8 peoples died
Mynamar		10 peoples died