APCEDI ALERT EQ-SSEA #6, 2004: Series of Earthquakes and Tsunamis Devastate Wide Area of South and Southeast Asia

Updated Information and Death Tolls

Death tolls are beginning to stabilise in some countries although they continue to mount in Sri Lanka. Information from Burma is still very sketchy with no official information yet. The situation in the Andamans and Nicobar, as well as parts of Sumatra's Aceh Province are still likely under-reported due to the inability to get reliable information out of these more remote areas. The following death tolls are from five primary sources: OCHA, USAID, BBC, Agence France-Presse and the Indian Government. These figures reflect the averages being provided by the above sources.

Sumatra and off shore islands, 4500-4800 dead, Most casulaties in Aceh and Northern Sumatra Provinces.

Sri Lanka, 10000-13000 dead; Highest casualty figures from the East Coast cities of Trincomalee and Batticaloa and the South Coast cities of Hambantota and Galle. The death tolls being reported from Sril Lanka are now becoming quite widely varied and undependable.

India, 3000-3200 dead, 2300-2800 from Tamil Nadu with Chennai (Madras) and Nagappattinam areas hardest hit, 50-100 from Southern Andhra Pradesh including Pondicherry enclaves and 100-150 from Kerala.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India 3000 dead, toll likely to rise; severe to catastrophic damage throughout island chains.

Thailand, 866 dead, most casualties from Phuket and Phi Phi Islands and along the peninsular west coast including Krabi area.

Maldives 50-60 dead; damage throughout country.

Burma, 60 dead, most damage in the Irrawaddy Delta and coastal towns of the Tenassarim Peninsula; 36 deaths reported in Pyinzalu Island near Labutta town and another 20 from the Thanintharyi Division in the peninsula, but still very little confirmable news has been released by official sources.

Malaysia, 44-53 dead, Most casualties in Penang and Coastal Kedah State in Northwest.

Bangladesh 2 dead; overall damage light.

Some of these figures will still continue to rise as reports from outlying and cut-off areas eventually come in.

Very good updates on relief efforts are now being provided on the UN's Relief Web.

Kevin Vang
APCEDI Coordinator
http://www.afap.org/apcedi/