The article below is quoted from the full story of the report about the 8.9 Ritcher scale earthquake that hit South East Asia this morning.
Look at the devastation left my the earthquake and the tsunami!
To read the full version please click here.
(CNN) — Massive tsunamis triggered by the largest earthquake to shake the planet in over 40 years have wiped out coastal areas across southeastern Asia, killing more than 3,600 people — most of them 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 local time 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.
Sri Lankan authorities are reporting over 1,700 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.
The huge waves also swept away a high security prison in Matara in southern Sri Lanka, allowing 200 prisoners to escape. Eyewitnesses in eastern Sri Lankan port city of 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, unaffected on the west coast.
Steven Evans, the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, told CNN the island nation needed help in rescue efforts.
India has agreed to help 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. Interior Minister Shivraj Patil said at least 1,000 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 there.
Along India’s southeastern coast, several villages appeared to have been swept away, and hundreds of fishermen who were out at sea when when the massive waves swept across the waters have not returned.
Affected area of the earthquake / tsunami. *Click thumbnail for larger picture.
Facts of the aftermath:
(1) SRI LANKA
Confirmed death toll is over 1,700, but Colombo officials believe death toll will rise above 2,000
(2) INDIA
At least 1,000 killed by waves which flooded the southern coast, interior minister says
(3) INDONESIA
More than 500 killed — many of them in Aceh, in northern Sumatra
(4) THAILAND
Thai authorities say nearly 400 were killed — 200 reported on the small island of Phi Phi
(5) MALDIVES
At least three children reported killed in the high waters on an island north of the capital, Male
Let’s say our prayers to those who died / hurt in this tradegic disaster and God bless their souls.
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