Huge waves from a massive undersea earthquake smashed into coastlines across Asia yesterday, washing away whole villages in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India and dragging sunbathers out to sea at tourist havens in Thailand.
More than 11,500 people were reported killed in six countries, with many more missing and the death toll is expected to rise today when searches resume.
The death toll from the most powerful earthquake in four decades climbed steadily throughout the day as authorities counted bodies washed up on beaches and left hanging like ragdolls from trees. Tens of thousands fled the coasts for higher ground, fearing aftershocks and further flood surges.
Worst hit was Sri Lanka, an island nation about 1,000 miles west of the epicentre. The death toll stood at 4,500, according to police and Tamil Tiger rebels, and one million people were displaced. Sri Lanka's government declared a national disaster.
The 8.9-magnitude earthquake, the strongest since a 9.2 magnitude disaster in Alaska in 1964, struck around breakfast time off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, about 1,000 miles northwest of Jakarta, the capital, the US Geological Survey said.
It was six miles deep, and was followed by a half-dozen powerful aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from almost 6 and 7.3. Towns in Sumatra's Aceh province, the closest region to the earthquake's epicentre, were swamped by the massive waves, or tsunami. The health ministry said at least 4,185 people were killed, and hundreds more were missing in the area.
The quake occurred at a place where several huge geological plates push against each other with massive force. The geographical survey said a 620-mile section along the boundary of the plates shifted, triggering the sudden displacement of a huge volume of water.
In India, the tsunami swept away boats, homes and vehicles, killing nearly 2,300 people in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry, officials said. Tamil Nadu's beaches resembled open-air mortuaries as the bodies of fishermen washed ashore, and retreating waters left behind others killed inland. At least 300 people were killed on India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, and another 700 were missing and believed dead, the region's police chief said. In Malaysia, at least 42 people were killed on the resort island of Penang, police said.
The force of the earthquake was felt unusually far afield, causing buildings to sway hundreds of miles away, from Singapore to the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, and in Bangladesh.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was trying to make contact with hundreds of Irish tourists in Indian Ocean resorts after the region was hit by the largest earthquake in 40 years.Thousands died in the resulting tsunami.
It is believed that between 2,500 and 3,000 Irish people are currently on holiday in the region and while at the moment it appears no Irish are among the confirmed list of dead or missing, local sources say it is too early to know for certain.
Last night both the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, expressed their concern at the devastating effects of the earthquake.
Irish tourists were last night advised by the Department of Foreign Affairs not to travel to the affected areas of Southern Asia. "Pending further clarification of the situation in the region, the Department advises against travel to the Maldives, eastern parts of Sri Lanka and the west coast of Thailand for the time being," a statement said.
A spokesman for Twohigs Travel agency said that as of last night, all of its 150 customers in the region were accounted for. It has emerged that several Irish tourists were yesterday moved from the devastated region of Phuket, western Thailand, and were relocated to an alternative resort elsewhere.
It emerged last night that two scheduled flights from London to southern Asia left empty to enable British and Irish tourists to return home early. The Department of Foreign Affairs issued the following helpline numbers: 01 4082302, 01 4082876 and 01 4082308.