Archives for December 2004

Top News Article | Reuters.com…
COLOMBO (Reuters) – One of the most powerful earthquakes in a century hit Asia on Sunday, unleashing tsunami waves on coastal areas of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Thailand, and killing an estimated 11,300 people.

The tsunami waves were triggered by an 8.9 magnitude underwater earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, rearing up into walls of water as high as 30 feet as they hit shallow coastlines in south and south-east Asia.

“I heard an eerie sound that I have never heard before. It was a high pitched sound followed by a deafening roar,” said a 55-year-old Indian fishermen who gave his name as Chellappa.

“I told everyone to run for their life.”

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Reporters’ log: Asian quake disaster
Several countries around the Indian Ocean have been hit by devastating sea surges. The BBC’s correspondents report from the affected areas as rescue attempts begin.

Matthew Grant : Madras, India : 2007 GMT

Many people were out walking or playing cricket on the beaches of Madras when the tidal wave struck. Police have recovered hundreds of bodies from the city and along the coast.

Others have been washed ashore. Some were thrown into lorries while others were carried to hospital on carts or in sacks.

Locals say they felt the rumble of the earthquake early this morning from its epicentre thousands of miles away in the Indian Ocean.

Then, just over an hour later came what they describe as the wall of water. It slammed into the coastline.

It’s now dark in Madras and most of the water’s gone back out to sea but along the coast there’s still signs of devastation.

Many of the roads there are closed and strewn with debris. Some of the shanty towns by the beaches are completely destroyed and out to see hundreds of fishermen are still believed to be missing.

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Sea surges kill thousands in Asia
More than 11,500 people have been killed across southern Asia in massive sea surges triggered by the strongest earthquake in the world for 40 years.

The 8.9 magnitude quake struck under the sea near Aceh in north Indonesia, generating a wall of water that sped across thousands of kilometres of sea.

More than 4,100 died in Indonesia, 4,300 in Sri Lanka and 2,900 in India.

Casualty figures are rising over a wide area, including resorts in Sri Lanka and Thailand packed with holidaymakers.

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Timeline: Quake disaster
BBC News looks at how the world’s strongest earthquake for 40 years, which triggered sea surges and killed several thousands across southern Asia, developed.

the Mail online | News | 11,300 killed by huge quake
Tidal waves from a massive undersea earthquake smashed into coastlines across Asia, washing away whole villages in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India and dragging sunbathers out to sea and snorkelers across jagged reefs at tourist havens in Thailand.

More than 11,300 people were killed in six countries.