Massive tsunamis triggered by the largest earthquake to shake the planet in more than 40 years wiped out coastal areas across Southeast Asia as far as 1,000 miles away, killing more than 4,700 people.

Most of the deaths were in Sri Lanka and India.

The initial quake, measuring 8.9 in magnitude, struck about 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island around 7 a.m. Sunday (0000 GMT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.

It is the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history, according to the NEIC. The measurements have been taken since 1899.

Sri Lankan military authorities are reporting more than 2,400 people killed, most of them in the eastern district of Batticaloa. Several districts in the country's south have still not reported casualty figures, and authorities fear the death toll could rise.

Officials said thousands were missing and more than a half million had been displaced.

The huge waves also swept away a high security prison in Matara, in southern Sri Lanka, allowing 200 prisoners to escape. Eyewitnesses in the eastern Sri Lankan port city Trincomalee reported waves as high as 40 feet (12 meters), hitting inland as far as half a mile (1 km).

Sri Lankan officials imposed a curfew as night fell, and tourists were being evacuated from the eastern coasts to the capital, Colombo, which is on the west coast and was unaffected.

India agreed to assist Sri Lanka, sending two naval ships to the resort town of Galle, in the south, and Trincomalee, according to Colombo officials.

Indian aircraft will bring in relief supplies to the country on Monday.

India itself is reeling from the aftermath of the quake and tsunamis. Indian officials said at least 1,800 Indians were killed as a result of the massive waves. A resident of Chennai (formerly Madras) in Tamil Nadu district -- the hardest hit area -- said he witnessed several people being swept away by a tidal wave.

Along India's southeastern coast, several villages appeared to have been swept away, and thousands of fishermen -- including 2,000 from the Chennai area alone -- who were out at sea when when the massive waves swept across the waters have not returned.

Along the coast, the brick foundations of village homes were all that remained.

Interior Minister Shivraj Patil told CNN 700 people were killed in Tamil Nadu state and 200 in Andhra Pradesh. Poor communications with India's remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, which were closer to the quake's epicenter, has prevented any reports of damage and casualties. Most of the aftershocks have been centered off those islands.

Thai authorities say more than 300 are feared dead, and hundreds are missing. One witness said Phuket's famed Laguna Beach resort area is "completely gone." The area provides 40 percent of Thailand's $10 billion annual tourist income.

Among the missing were a number of scuba divers exploring the Emerald Cave off Phuket's coast.

Phuket's airport -- which closed down when its runways flooded -- reopened, but most roads remained closed, as officials tried to assess the damage, fearing structural damage to buildings closer to the shore.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Chinnawat arrived in Phuket and said the situation was "under control." He told CNN he planned to stay the night and direct rescue and relief efforts.

Eyewitnesses reported people drowning in their hotel rooms near the coast as 30-foot waves washed ashore. Others reported narrow escapes -- including one man whose alert but screaming boat driver turned their boat directly into a nearby shore. As he and his passengers scrambled up the steep beach, the waves crushed their boat.

More than 500 people were killed in Indonesia by the quake and the following tsunamis -- many of them in Aceh, in northern Sumatra, about 100 miles from the quake's epicenter, according to local reports.

"We still haven't got any reports from the western coast of Aceh, which is closest to the epicenter, so officials are bracing themselves for a lot more bad news," said journalist John Aglionby in Jakarta.

The earthquake is classified as "great" -- the strongest classification given by the NEIC.

NEIC geophysicist Don Blakeman said all of the tsunamis were triggered by the initial quake. Waverly Person, Blakeman's colleague at NEIC, said the tsunamis are "long over at this point," and residents and visitors should not be concerned with more high water.

One major aftershock, measuring 7.3 in magnitude, struck about 200 miles (300 km) northwest of Banda Aceh -- on Sumatra's northernmost tip -- over four hours after the initial quake, according to the NEIC. The rest of the aftershocks measured under 6.5 in magnitude.

The NEIC expects the quake to produce hundreds of smaller aftershocks, under 4.6 magnitude, and thousands smaller than that.

"A quake of this size has some pretty serious effects," he said.

He explained the quake was the energy released from "a very large rupture in the earth's crust" over 600 miles (1,000 km) long. The rupture created shockwaves that moved the water along at several hundred miles per hour.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit since March 1964, when a 9.2 quake struck near Alaska's Prince William Sound. The strongest recorded earthquake registered 9.5 on May 22, 1960, in Chile.



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Hope you guys all OK..

Thailand resorts hit by floods

The tourist resort of Phuket was devastated
At least 257 people died and 1,000 were injured after the massive sea surges caused by an earthquake smashed into Thailand's western coast.
The worst hit areas were on beaches near Phuket, with reports of divers and sunbathers being swept out to sea.

Hotels were under water after 5m-10m (16 to 33 feet) waves hit the coast and there were reports of tourist bungalows being carried away by the water.

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REMEMBER TO SAVE THE WOMEN FIRST!!!!

The BBC says at least 10,000 dead now...

Reuters saying 12000......

Unreal, you couldn't have written a movie script for something this bad.

fuck!
I've been in Phuket...what a tragedy!

TOGM has been posting - he doesn't live there, but has friends living there. :( A guy on G F Y was posting there looking for new on his parents who are vacationing there :(

Just bizarre.

> measuring 8.9 in magnitude

Holy fucking shit - thats big!!! :zoinks:

I was thinkin same thing.

Could you imagine snorkaling in paradise, then BAM - your get hit with a wave and brought miles away.

A nightmare!

Glad yr safe.

Hopefully insurance will cover the damage?

Timon is online but not answering icq so I hope he is opk

I found my friends ok.........they are in BKK.

But - mom and dads house in Krabi and their Phi Phi Boat were trashed. They say Phuket is worst hit and lots people (divers - backpackers) still missing. In 2 weeks when people dont show up at the airport and their visas expire they might have better numbers but i wouldnt bet on it unless thai officials make a real effort.

I`ll be there late january.....wont be the same i guess.

Any word from Timon?

Interesting first hand account.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Dec26.html

There was an extremely large earthquake predicted to strike sometime this year, I am sure I read that it would strike or anticipated to strike in Asia. Checking the news now ..

Wow. That gave me goosebumps :(

Actually, they did didn't they?

Wasn't "the Day after tomorrow" about major waves sweeping parts of the country?

Anyone heard from Timon yet??!! :(

CNN Reports: Asia quake death toll tops 23,000

what a nightmare..

yeah too bad for them

let's pray for them :(

Its unbelievable....

Heard from Timon though.He was the other side , Thank God.

But he says Phuket is FUCKED!

I saw this on the news

real tragedy

:(

and the epicenter was 80km off the shore. deep sea quake.. the largest on recod in the US is what 6.0, duing the world series in 1998?

and the epicenter was 80km off the shore. deep sea quake.. the largest on recod in the US is what 6.0, duing the world series in 1998? [/b][/quote]
The 1906 San Francisco quake was a 7.8; they estimate that one that happened in the midwest (near beautiful downtown New Madrid, Missouri) was about 8.0.

The New Madrid quake made the Mississippi River flow backwards for about three days.

Glad to hear that Timon is okay.

From what I understand, an 8.9 would be substantially stronger than an 8.0:

privately...

;-))

btw Phuket Hospital has a list of all people treated online

http://www.phukethospital.com

Good to hear Timon's ok!

Btw, aren't KMan and Prophet there?

I know Phuket is a place many of the photogs go to shoot content. Beautiful place from what I've seen in pics; really does look like paradise. (Er, it did.) Can't imagine what it must be like now.

Kman is OK - where are you guys seeing Timon's OK?

and the epicenter was 80km off the shore. deep sea quake.. the largest on recod in the US is what 6.0, duing the world series in 1998? [/b][/quote]


""It was the strongest earthquake to hit since March 1964, when a 9.2 quake struck near Alaska's Prince William Sound. The strongest recorded earthquake registered 9.5 on May 22, 1960, in Chile.""

89 SF quake was 6.9

The energy released from such earthquakes are frightening, and the following tsunamis travling hundreds or even thousands of miles until they hit land makes it even more scary... tsunamis even hit some african countries causing death and destructions.

1 year ago Iran was hit by a 6.6 earthquake, which killed 26.000 people...

Has anyone heard from Scott? I know he doesn't live over there, but he spends a fair amount of time in both Indonesia and Thailand.

I don't have a current cell phone number for him...

Just realized that it is exact 1 year ago that Iran was hit by the 6.6 earthquake - on the 26th of December 2003.

I´m sure nature doesn´t follow our calendar, but for 2 devastating earthquakes happing exactly with 1 year (on the day) apart is something superstitious people might pick up...

:blink: