The undersea earthquake carried off more then 85000 lives

With the death toll soaring to nearly 85,000 in the tsunami havoc, the &to= english.pravda.ru/main/2002/03/22/27143.html ' target=_blank>World Health Organization Wednesday warned that disease in the aftermath of the disaster could kill as many people as the deadly waves caused by an &to= english.pravda.ru/society/2001/02/08/2393.html ' target=_blank>undersea earthquake. The toll shot up after the rescue workers found the remains of entire villages in Indonesia, the worst hit nation that accounted for more than 40,000 deaths in Sunday's watery fury. Sri Lanka has reported 28,000 dead, while India accounted for 12,500 deaths, and Thailand reported 1,500 dead. Thousands of people are reported missing, including hundreds of Western tourists who had thronged to luxury tourist resorts in Thailand and Sri Lanka to celebrate New Year holidays. Millions were rendered homeless by the tsunamis that lashed the coastal regions of 11 nations, causing severe damage in at least seven countries following a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake off &to= english.pravda.ru/world/2000/11/29/1195.html ' target=_blank>Sumatra in Indonesia, tells United Press International. The massive earthquake and tsunamis that shattered coastal Asia virtually wiped out the western coast of the Indonesian island nearest the quake's epicentre, military officials who reached the area for the first time said today. The death toll soared again, to nearly 69,000. The first survey of the remote and isolated region of Sumatra island's west coast served as a reminder that an already unprecedented relief effort was likely to get much larger, as aid began to trickle into the 11 nations affected by the disaster. "The damage is truly devastating," said Major Gen. Endang Suwarya, the military commander of Sumatra's Aceh province, who toured the west coast by helicopter today. "Seventy-five percent of the west coast is destroyed and some places its 100 percent. These people are isolated and we will try and get them help." Indonesia's official death toll stood at more than 36,000, but authorities said this did not yet include a full count from Sumatra's west coast, where more than 10,000 deaths were suspected, publishes Independent News.

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