Sun. Dec. 26 2004 11:06 PM ET

Devastation caused by the mass flooding in India.

Tsunamis kill at least 12,600 in south Asia

CTV.ca News Staff

One of the most powerful earthquakes in decades sent massive tsunami waves throughout the Indian Ocean, killing at least 12,600 in places ranging from Sri Lanka to Thailand.

The quake was centred off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra and measured a magnitude of 8.9. It sparked massive waves, called tsunamis, with swells in the Indian Ocean up to 10 metres high.

"We felt the shocks around 8:30 in the morning, just brief tremors. But it was shortly after noon, as people were playing on the beach, that there was a sudden surge in the tide, some two or three metres, and tourists were frightened to higher ground," CTV's Matt McClure, reporting from Myanmar (formerly called Burma), says he felt the earthquake there on Sunday morning. "It's truly amazing how far and how quickly this tsunami has travelled." 

Myanmar is due north of the quake's epicentre. Some of its 1,930-kilometre coastline was hit by tsunamis, but no deaths have been reported yet. However, the country is run by a secretive military junta, and the British charity Christian Aid said it feared the government could be suppressing news about casualties and damage there.

Sri Lanka, more than 1,500 km away from the epicentre, appears to be the worst hit. It is followed by  Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives, Somalia and Bangladesh.

The huge waves -- measuring six metres to 10 high, depending on distance from the epicentre -- arrived about 2½ hours after the earthquake. They wiped out coastal villages in Sri Lanka, killing at least 4,500 people.

The hardest-hit area there appears to be the tourist region of the south and east, where many beach hotels were simply swept away. Sri Lankan authorities say they believe at least 22 Japanese tourists are dead. One Canadian is confirmed dead there.

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga declared a national disaster. Government officials say more than one million people, or around five per cent of the island's population, have been affected by the waves -- which came just two weeks after severe monsoon flooding damaged crops and homes.

The government in India is reporting at least 3,600 people were killed in coastal areas. Hundreds of bodies have been found on various beaches along the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and more are expected to wash in from the sea.

Half-submerged cars and motorcyles along with wrecked boats dot the beaches in Madras as wailing relatives gathered around bodies gathered on beaches, trying to find loved ones.

Indonesia is reporting more than 4,400 deaths. Malaysia is reporting 42 deaths and Bangladesh two.

The tiny Maldives -- a string of coral islands off the southwest coast of India that are barely above sea level, and about 2,500 km from the epicentre -- reported 32 deaths. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom plans to declare a national disaster.

In Thailand, 431 are dead. More than 100 western and Asian tourists on diving holidays are missing on islands in the southern part of that country -- although the total number missing is believed to be in the thousands.

At least a dozen Canadians were reported injured there.

"Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before," Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said, as his government ordered the evacuation of stricken coastal areas.

In Somalia -- on the east coast of Africa, almost 5,000 km away from the epicentre, or roughly the distance from Toronto to Vancouver -- at least nine deaths were reported.

However, some experts say the final toll of the quake and tsunamis might never be fully known.

Earthquake and tsunami science

Earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 8.0 or more are rare. This is the fifth largest earthquake to strike the world since 1900, says the U.S. Geological Survey.

This quake struck just three days after an 8.1 quake struck the ocean floor between Australia and Antarctica, causing buildings to shake hundreds of kilometres away but no serious damage or injury.

Indonesia, a country of 17,000 islands, is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on the margins of tectonic plates that make up the so-called the "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Ocean basin.

Most of the destruction, however, came from the tsunamis, not the quake itself.

John Clague, a Simon Fraser University earth sciences professor, told CTV News that if you were on a boat on the open sea, you might not notice the tsunami as it passed underneath you -- even though it's moving at the same speed as a jet plane, or up to 900 kilometres per hour.

As it nears shore, "when that wave begins to feel the bottom (of the ocean), and that bottom begins to exert a force on it, it will begin to bolt up," he said.

"It will rise, and rise progressively until it begins to break and rush ashore. These turbulent masses of water as they break can roll inland as much as a kilometre or two, and they can exert a devastating impact on structures and on people anywhere within that run-up zone."

Quake aftermath

As the damage is assessed, there are now worries of aftershocks that may cause further tidal waves.

As well, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says there will be health worries, including the risk of waterborne diseases, such as malaria and diarrhea, as well as respiratory tract infections.

Without a prompt response, thousands more could die from those ailments, the experts warn.

UNICEF says it's estimated at least one-third of the reported dead are children. The United Nations agency is urging aid to prevent countless further deaths. As well, help will be needed to rebuild schools and health facilities.

Canadians wishing to donate aid to quake relief can call the Red Cross at 1-800-418-1111 or UNICEF at 1-877-955-3111. People can also link to their websites; the links are above and to the right.

With a report from CTV's Matt McClure and files from The Associated Press