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Quake waves killed thousands
http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/12/27 12:18  Shanghai Daily

  More than 9,300 people across Asia were killed yesterday after one of the most powerful earthquakes on record triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into coastlines in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Thailand and Malaysia.

  Tourists, fishermen, hotels, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water unleashed by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake, centered off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where at least 2,200 people were killed by floods and collapsing buildings, officials said.

  But the scope of the disaster became apparent only after waves as high as six meters crashed into coastal areas throughout the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea.

  In Sri Lanka, some 1,600 kilometers west of the epicenter, the death toll stood at 4,500, according to police. One million more were affected by the surging wall of water, the government said.

  More than 2,300 were killed along India's southern coast. Another 289 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and 2 in Bangladesh.

  Thousands of people were missing, many of them fishermen at sea, and rescue workers struggled against floodwaters to find and evacuate stranded victims.

  The death toll climbed throughout the day and was expected to grow even higher as more bodies were discovered. Hundreds of bodies were found on beaches along India's state of Tamil Nadu, and more were expected to be washed in by the sea.

  "I was shocked to see innumerable fishing boats flying on the shoulder of the waves, going back and forth into the sea, as if made of paper," said P. Ramanamurthy, 40, a resident of the neighboring Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

  Among those killed along India's Andhra Pradesh state were 32 people, including 15 children, who had gone into the sea for a Hindu religious bath to mark the full moon day, police said. They said 20,000 people were evacuated in four districts.

  The US Geological Survey recorded the magnitude 8.9 earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra. It was centered 40 kilometers below the seabed. Aftershocks struck in the magnitude 7 range.

  The earthquake was the world's fifth most powerful since 1900 and the strongest since a 9.2 temblor slammed Alaska in 1964, US earthquake experts said.

  The force of it shook unusually far afield, causing buildings to sway hundreds of miles away, from Singapore to Chiang Mai in Thailand, and in Bangladesh, hours after the region's Christian communities had finished Christmas celebrations.

  Initial damage centered on the Indonesian province of Aceh on Sumatra. Dozens of buildings were destroyed, but as elsewhere, much of the death toll appeared to come from onrushing floodwaters.

  Towns nearest the epicenter were leveled by tidal waves, which killed at least 1,902 people and left bodies wedged in trees as the waters receded, Indonesian officials and witnesses said. Officials warned the death toll could rise dramatically.

  A spokesman for Indonesian Garuda Airlines said Banda Aceh's airport was flooded and planes were unable to land.

  In Sri Lanka, the government called yesterday's events a national disaster and appealed for emergency relief.

  Holidays turned to disaster in southern Thailand, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists to its southern beaches during the Christmas season. At least 289 people died, 1,900 others were injured and thousands, reportedly including foreign tourists on diving excursions, were missing, authorities said.

  "Just out of nowhere, suddenly the streets (were) awash and people just running and screaming from the beach," said John Hyde, a vacationing Australian.

  The owner of two resorts on Phi Phi island said that 200 of his bungalows were swept out to sea, along with some of his employees and customers.

  "I am afraid that there will be a high figure of foreigners missing in the sea, and also my staff," said Chan Marongtaechar. He estimated that 700 people could have been on the beach.

  (The Associated Press)






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