anand
27th December 2004, 02:27 AM
CHENNAI, DEC. 26. Huge seismic sea waves, triggered by a massive undersea earthquake off Sumatra in Indonesia, left over 9,300 people dead and tens of thousands homeless in India, Sri Lanka and South-East Asia on Sunday.
The earthquake, which had its epicentre 257 km south-southwest of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, measured 8.9 on the Richter scale making it the most powerful in the world in the last 40 years. At least 2,200 people were killed in and around Sumatra by floods and collapsing buildings, officials said. But, most of the destruction was caused by seismic waves or tsunami that hit India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand within two hours of the first impact of the quake.
Fishermen, tourists and people living on the coast were unprepared for the waves that rose as high as six metres (20 feet) throughout the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea. In India, more than 3,000 people were killed in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Tamil Nadu alone accounted for 1,705 deaths. The toll is expected to rise. In Chennai, early morning walkers and children playing cricket on the beach were washed away. The toll: 131. Nagapattinam was worst hit in the State with the toll put at 788. In Kanniyakumari, 392 people died.
Late reports said at least 1,000 people had died in the Andamans. Pondicherry reported 280 deaths, 211 in Karaikal alone. In Kerala, at least 100 people have died. The toll in Andhra Pradesh was 84.
Sri Lanka, whose capital, Colombo, is 1,806 km west of the epicentre, suffered extensive damage with reports putting the number of people killed at 4,500. One million more were affected by the surging seawater that flooded coastal towns including Colombo. The Government called Sunday's events a national disaster and appealed for emergency relief.
Nearly 300 were confirmed dead in Thailand, among them holiday revellers from around the world. The toll in Malaysia was 428, including foreign tourists. Thousands of people, mostly fishermen, were reported missing.
The United States Geological Survey recorded the magnitude 8.9 earthquake off Sumatra as lying centred 10 km 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, U.S. earthquake experts said. The quake occurred at a place where several massive geological plates push against each other with massive force. The survey said a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) section along the boundary of the plates shifted, motion that triggered the sudden displacement of a huge volume of water.
The force of it shook 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.
Initial damage centred on the Indonesian province of Aceh, northern Sumatra. But more people were killed in the tsunami that came in the wake of the quake.
The second unit of the Madras Atomic Power Station in Tamil Nadu was shut down after water entered the plant, officials said, but there was no damage or radiation leak.
High waves inundated the Maldives, a string of 1,192 coral atolls off the southwestern coast of India, injuring one Italian tourist and forcing the airport to close, an official said. A British man died from a heart attack minutes before the waves hit.
In Malaysia, 42 people, mainly tourists and including some foreigners, were swept away near the northern city of Penang. 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,'' John Hyde, a vacationing Australian state lawmaker, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.
Another tourist, Briton Simon Clark, 29, said: ``Suddenly this huge wave came, rushing down the beach, destroying everything in its wake. People that were snorkeling were dragged along the coral and washed up on the beach, and people that were sunbathing got washed into the sea.''
The owner of two resorts on Phi Phi island — where the film ``The Beach'', starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed — 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, who was in the Thai capital of Bangkok at the time. He estimated that 700 people could have been on the beach.
At least 2 children were killed when a boat capsized in Bangladesh, local authorities said.
The Port Blair airport in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was damaged and it will not be operational for at least a month. However, flights have not been affected in Chennai and other cities.
Railway tracks on the east coast of India were also damaged in the tsunami and train services have been suspended in some sectors.
http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/27/images/2004122707470101.jpg
WHEN THE SEA SURGED ON TO THE LAND: Residents of a Chennai suburb scramble for safety as the waves come menacingly at them on Sunday morning. - Photo: Bijoy Ghosh
The earthquake, which had its epicentre 257 km south-southwest of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, measured 8.9 on the Richter scale making it the most powerful in the world in the last 40 years. At least 2,200 people were killed in and around Sumatra by floods and collapsing buildings, officials said. But, most of the destruction was caused by seismic waves or tsunami that hit India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand within two hours of the first impact of the quake.
Fishermen, tourists and people living on the coast were unprepared for the waves that rose as high as six metres (20 feet) throughout the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea. In India, more than 3,000 people were killed in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Tamil Nadu alone accounted for 1,705 deaths. The toll is expected to rise. In Chennai, early morning walkers and children playing cricket on the beach were washed away. The toll: 131. Nagapattinam was worst hit in the State with the toll put at 788. In Kanniyakumari, 392 people died.
Late reports said at least 1,000 people had died in the Andamans. Pondicherry reported 280 deaths, 211 in Karaikal alone. In Kerala, at least 100 people have died. The toll in Andhra Pradesh was 84.
Sri Lanka, whose capital, Colombo, is 1,806 km west of the epicentre, suffered extensive damage with reports putting the number of people killed at 4,500. One million more were affected by the surging seawater that flooded coastal towns including Colombo. The Government called Sunday's events a national disaster and appealed for emergency relief.
Nearly 300 were confirmed dead in Thailand, among them holiday revellers from around the world. The toll in Malaysia was 428, including foreign tourists. Thousands of people, mostly fishermen, were reported missing.
The United States Geological Survey recorded the magnitude 8.9 earthquake off Sumatra as lying centred 10 km 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, U.S. earthquake experts said. The quake occurred at a place where several massive geological plates push against each other with massive force. The survey said a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) section along the boundary of the plates shifted, motion that triggered the sudden displacement of a huge volume of water.
The force of it shook 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.
Initial damage centred on the Indonesian province of Aceh, northern Sumatra. But more people were killed in the tsunami that came in the wake of the quake.
The second unit of the Madras Atomic Power Station in Tamil Nadu was shut down after water entered the plant, officials said, but there was no damage or radiation leak.
High waves inundated the Maldives, a string of 1,192 coral atolls off the southwestern coast of India, injuring one Italian tourist and forcing the airport to close, an official said. A British man died from a heart attack minutes before the waves hit.
In Malaysia, 42 people, mainly tourists and including some foreigners, were swept away near the northern city of Penang. 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,'' John Hyde, a vacationing Australian state lawmaker, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.
Another tourist, Briton Simon Clark, 29, said: ``Suddenly this huge wave came, rushing down the beach, destroying everything in its wake. People that were snorkeling were dragged along the coral and washed up on the beach, and people that were sunbathing got washed into the sea.''
The owner of two resorts on Phi Phi island — where the film ``The Beach'', starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed — 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, who was in the Thai capital of Bangkok at the time. He estimated that 700 people could have been on the beach.
At least 2 children were killed when a boat capsized in Bangladesh, local authorities said.
The Port Blair airport in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was damaged and it will not be operational for at least a month. However, flights have not been affected in Chennai and other cities.
Railway tracks on the east coast of India were also damaged in the tsunami and train services have been suspended in some sectors.
http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/27/images/2004122707470101.jpg
WHEN THE SEA SURGED ON TO THE LAND: Residents of a Chennai suburb scramble for safety as the waves come menacingly at them on Sunday morning. - Photo: Bijoy Ghosh