Tuesday, December 28 2004 22:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: The full magnitude of Sunday's earthquake-tidal wave disaster became known today (Dec 28, 2004) with authorities in Indonesia and Sri Lanka putting the death figure at a staggering 45,000 people while that in the devastated areas in India mounting massive relief and rehabilitation operations.

Inclusive of the over 7,500 dead in India, the total toll in all the seven tsunami-affected countries in South and South East Asia galloped close to 55,000. Of this, Indonesia, whose Sumatra Island was close to the epicentre of the quake, alone accounted for about 2,174 deaths. Some sources have put the figure there at as high as 27,000. Thailand posted a toll of 1,516, Myanmar 90, Malaysia 65 and the Maldives 55.

Tamil Nadu and the Andamans, the worst-hit in India, accounted for 4,500 and 3,000 deaths respectively in the devastation. In the small fishing town of Nagapattinam of Tamil Nadu alone, 2,500 deaths were reported. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa put the toll in the State at nearly 4,000.

In Kerala, the toll crossed the 150-mark while 96 died in Andhra Pradesh.

The biggest peacetime rescue and relief operations gained momentum across the Tsunami-hit regions with the Army, Air Force and navy joining civil and voluntary agencies to carry food, clothes and shelter to thousands of homeless.

Rescue workers dragged corpses from lagoons, backwaters, ponds and from under shattered houses on sea shores.

Allaying fears, the Government said the Kalpakkam Atomic Power Plant in Tamil Nadu on the sea shore was "safe" and ruled out any nuclear radiation from the installation.

In Delhi, a group of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met this evening and announced allocation of Rs 200 crore for building houses and asked banks to give loans on liberal terms to people, including fishermen, in the affected areas.