Sunday, December 26 2004 18:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: An estimated 1,400 people, including 1,000 in Tamil Nadu alone, were feared killed and hundreds more were missing when high Tsunami tidal waves lashed homes along the coast in south-eastern India after a massive earthquake hit the Sumatra Island in Indonesia this morning (Dec 26, 2004).

Tamil Nadu bore the brunt of the attack while neighbouring Andhra Pradesh also reported about 200 deaths mostly in Guntur, Prakasam and Krishna districts. In Pondicherry about 100 people lost their lives.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, whose Car Nicobar Islands are just 115 nautical miles from Sumatra, the epicentre of the quake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, were also hit by the tidal waves that claimed 20 lives and damaged property including the airport in Car Nicobar.

Campbell Bay, just about 25 nautical miles off the Indonesian coast, suffered extensive damage.

In the southern tip, Kerala accounted for a toll of 29 people while one person lost his life in West Bengal.

Tsunami waves are triggered by seismic disturbances, coastal earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or undersea landslides that jolt the ocean floor.

The result is a deep wave that reaches from the sea's surface to the floor and travels horizontally at speeds upto 800 kms and reaches height between 50 and 100 ft.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil before leaving on a visit to Andhra and Tamil Nadu said in New Delhi that about 1,000 people might have been killed in the disaster.