Tsunami Kills Thousands in South Asia on 26th December 2004

One of the most powerful earthquakes in the planet hit the Asian Continent with its epicenter at Ach Indonesia. Some of the tsunamis reached as far as 1,600 kilometers (91,000 miles) from the epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake, which was located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

The quake struck about 7 a.m. Sunday (midnight GMT Saturday), according to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Center.

The major countries hit by Tsunami are

India

Sri Lanka

Malaysia

Maldives

Indonesia

Thailand

Clickable South Asia Map

If you are looking for information on relatives or friends in the areas affected by the tsunami, here are some disaster hotlines from around the region:

To contact representatives from India, call +91 11 2309 3054

To reach Thailand, call their emergency hotline at +66 21672

For information about local residents in Sri Lanka, call +94 11 536 1938, for tourists the number is +94 11 243 7061

In the Maldives, the government hotline is +44 20 7224 2149

For more information on travelers in the Seychelles, call +248 321 676

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