Thousands more are still missing and millions of people have been left homeless by the 30-foot tsunami. The number of people reported killed in Sri Lanka has risen by 5,000, putting the total above 10,000. Eleven Britons are now known to have died - eight in Thailand, one in Sri Lanka and two in the Maldives. The Foreign Office which has warned the eventual UK death toll may be higher. The quake - now rated at 9 on the Richter scale - spread tidal waves from Indonesia all the way to the east coast of Africa. A total of eight countries were hit, with Indonesia, the east coast of India, Sri Lanka and Thailand the worst affected.Rescuers have begun reaching areas which were cut off.
They have reported scenes of total devastation, with bodies stuck on trees as the waters recede. The quake's epicentre was 90 miles off the southern coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Latest reports from India suggest as many as 5,600 people have been killed in the south-east. More than 800 people have been killed in the south of Thailand. In Indonesia, officials say up to 4,500 people have died.
In Malaysia 48 people are reported to have drowned on the tourist island of Penang. Many of them were foreign tourists swimming or riding jet skis. Two people were killed in Bangladesh and 10 in neighbouring Myanmar. At least 32 are dead in the Maldives after water inundated the low-lying islands.
