The effect of the most powerful earthquake in 40 years

The most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into coastlines across Asia on Sunday, killing about 3,800 people in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Tourists, fishermen, hotels, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water unleashed by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake, centered off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where at least 408 people were killed by floods and collapsing buildings, officials said.

But the scope of the disaster became apparent only after waves as high as six meters (20 feet) crashed into coastal areas throughout the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea.

In Sri Lanka _ some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west of the epicenter _ the death toll stood at 2,150, the Prime Minister’s office said. Indian officials said as many as 1,130 had been killed along the southern coast. Another 168 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 28 in Malaysia and 2 in Bangladesh.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Web site recorded the magnitude 8.9 earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra, 1,620 kilometers (1,000 miles) northwest of Jakarta. It was centered 40 kilometers (25 miles) below the seabed. Aftershocks struck in the magnitude 7 range.

The earthquake was the worlds fifth most powerful since 1900 and the strongest since a 9.2 temblor slammed Alaska in 1964, U.S. earthquake experts said.

In Sri Lanka, the Government called Sunday’s events a national disaster and appealed for emergency relief.

Holidays turned to disaster in southern Thailand, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists to its southern beaches during the Christmas season. At least 168 people died, 1,900 others were injured and many more _ reportedly including foreign tourists on diving excursions _ were missing, authorities said.

“This is the impact of the earthquake in Indonesia this morning,'’ said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. Raja Shekhar Reddy. “There were tidal waves in the sea and the entire coastal belt from Vishakhapatnam to Nellore (districts) has been affected.'’