Replies

I would like to send my deep felt sympathy to all affected and also to say that it has also reached the Seychelles. We have two young kids dead (apparently drowned) and the county is also on full alert. I haven't ever in my entire life seen a whole bay emptied out in such a short period of time. Lots of property damage. All is not over here we waiting for the water to rise again.
Michael Arnephie, Seychelles

We felt the ground shaking in our home with hundred of high rise building residents fleeing from home to open area afraid for their safety. The ground shaking incident had happen and lasted for around 2 minutes (From Malaysia time 9.00am). It was horrifying experience as we have not experience such great shake like this before.
Lim Seow Hoe, Penang, Malaysia

This morning I rode down to the beach front, ambulances whizzing past me. When I got near the beach front I saw cars piled on cars. Four terrified girls asked me to take them to safety. On the beach front road lay two boats, one had been crushed by a flying bus; cars have been thrown through two story buildings. I saw three dead being carried away. I spent the day helping where I could taking people to high ground. There was a mile long traffic jam snaking up and out of Patong, it was like a biblical exodus. My local super market was one floor underground, it had been flooded, the chance of survival for the staff is close to zero.
Shane Cordell, Patong, Phuket, Thailand

Heavy tremor had struck at 7.45 am local time...here all high rise buildings were waved like a cradle....but we don't know about the causalities.....all people here were panicky.. Rajasekar
Yangon, Myanmar

I was at Gurney Drive when I saw waves of mud washed up on the shore front. The waves reached up to Gurney Plaza which is about 200 meters from the coast line. Part of Gurney Drive is covered in mud.
Wen Chong, Cheah, Penang, Malaysia

Huge tidal waves hit many different coastal areas here in Sri Lanka. The most devastating tides were seen in Muttur and Trincomalee and the death toll is nearing four figures as of now. Witnesses are bewildered as to how fast everything happened. One moment they saw the sea water rise to heights of around 20-feet and the next moment it was as calm as ever. Some parts of Colombo have also seen minor waves entering the shores, some hitting the rail roads and bringing down shanties. This is the first and worst we have ever seen.
Mohamed Mohideen, Colombo, Sri Lanka

I'm currently in Varkala, Kerala, South East India for Christmas. Large waves came in early afternoon sweeping over people on the beach. Lifeguards saw the first wave coming in and alerted swimmers. Luckily no one was hurt. Afterwards sunbathers could be seen searching in waist deep water looking for their belongings. The beach backs onto a huge cliff so the village above was protected. I've heard from locals that up to 60 fishermen have been killed 25 kms further south but haven't heard any local news reports myself.
Helen Eldridge, Verkala, India (usually London, UK)

A significant number of Thais and tourists were washed out to sea, but most were later saved through acts of individual heroism
Nicholas Bennett, Kata, Phuket, Thailand
At about 10.15 a.m. this morning the first of three tidal waves struck, luckily at low tide, and washed away a number of seaside restaurants and hotels, threw cars and boats inland and washed away all the tourist boats. A significant number of Thais and tourists were washed out to sea, but most were later saved through acts of individual heroism. There were two more waves. The second was larger than the first, but the third smaller.
Nicholas Bennett, Kata, Phuket, Thailand

I got a phone call at 7.00 am this morning from daughter in surf resort of Sorake beach Pulau Nias. She described early morning shocks, the quickly rising & falling sea levels, lower houses flooded initially and some people left for higher ground. 10 am call that sea level rising rapidly, everyone evacuated to higher ground.
Annette Windle, Dronfield UK

The entire town area of Mahe is under water and the outer islands are been cleared.
Alcindor, Mahe, Seychelles

I used to go for a walk every morning along the Marina Beach in Chennai.At around 7 am when I reached the place I was really shocked to see the water engulfing the entire beach and entering the Beach Road.
Rajan, Chennai, India

My sister is a dive instructor on Ko Phi Phi and will be spending tonight half way up a mountain. Through the miracle of mobile phones I know that she is alive, but unfortunately she can't locate her boyfriend and has seen that people have died. I pray for all the people caught up in this at the moment
Mike Harding, Neston, Cheshire

We, few students of IIT Madras were on tour to beach, but we are shocked to see hundreds of people at nearby slums. One slum village (Vettuvangany few km from Adyar) was completely swamped by big tide which moved more than 100meters from the usual sea shore. Many people were crying at this village. We saw many casualties.
Saravanakumar, Chennai, India

More than 1032 people died due to this earthquake, alone in Tamil Nadu,600 people died and nearly 200 people from Chennai. Many people are missing too. The intensity of quake was so much that water in the ponds and rivers in the districts of Kolkata in West Bengal was swelling .
Shazia Nikhat, Kolkata, India

It was a terrible experience, I am a resident near marina beach morning walkers and joggers washed away . Many fisherman in our locality did not turn up.
Vasanth, Chennai, India

My son - on a world trip with wife and child - is anchored in his yacht at Phuket, he phoned me that they are all-right, included the boat. He had no time to tell more .
B, Belgium

Luckily the coral reefs and other islands to the north of us have protected the islands here
K Anthony, The Maldives
I'm based in South Ari Atoll in the Maldives and we weren't affected. Luckily the coral reefs and other islands to the north of us have protected the islands here. We have food, water and power and life goes on as normal. The airport in Male will soon be open again as normal.
K Anthony, The Maldives

Why was there no warning provided by authorities in the countries affected? Surely satellites, and tankers could have provided some warning of what was coming. Why is no one asking these questions?
George Murray, Graz, Austria

I felt the tremor and feared the worst. We had little time to prepare for the waves, no-one could have prepared for what arrived. My home has been destroyed, I have lost everything. I thank God i am alive to send this message.
Sandeep Kumar Jain, Chennai, India

I am on a small island called Mirhi in the South Ari Atoll in the Maldives, which is just around 50m wide and 150m long. At around 10.00am this morning, there were some waves, and the tide had covered the whole island with knee high water. Fortunately there were no casualties, just temporary loss of power. It all happened so quickly and the water levels resided pretty quickly too.
Govardhan VS, Mirhi, Maldives

My art gallery on the Beach Road containing 4000 paintings has been literally swept away and with it 18 years of my wife's work and ten years of mine. The worst part is that the government has stated that another Tsunami is on the way and will strike at any time now so maybe our house which is about 7 minutes from the beach is next to go.
Paul Conner, Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand.

My husband was walking on the beach in Nai Harn when he noticed people running. When he turned around the water was rushing back in towards the shore. He didn't have time to run, so he just started swimming. He got washed into the lagoon at the end of the beach and found himself caught in a boiling whirlpool. He was lucky enough to see a large, red cooler box and grabbed onto it. After a few minutes he was close enough to the jungle to grab onto a tree and pull himself out. The beach is a disaster now with all of the local restaurants and beach chairs businesses totally destroyed.
Ms. Q, Phuket, Thailand

I was jogging early morning at once I saw with the huge noise the waves came in
K.Prasanna, Colombo, Sri Lanka
I was jogging early morning at once I saw with the huge noise the waves came in a flash which covered the entire area with floods. The shops and small houses around have collapsed people were running all over to find a safe place and some were trying to carry their belongings with them. Many people are displaced and forces are trying there best to help the people are affected.
K.Prasanna, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Part of the island has been flooded, no casualties reported. All international flights in and out of capital Mali cancelled until further notice. Reports in that they are partly under sea water 3 ft! Some islands worst hit on east coast report of people climbing palm trees. All phones out of action including mobiles. Satellite only. 1 week of holiday to go! Hope I make it back!
James Hurley, Keradu, Maldives

We felt the building shake at about 8.00am and thought it may have been an earthquake but were not too sure. Went back to bed and about 90mins later woke up to see a wall of water, trees and cars coming towards us very quickly. Didn't have much time to collect our belongings before water began coming into the apartment. It was quite scary!
Chris Anderson, Phuket, Thailand

According to local radio news reports in Colombo, more than 1,000 people in Sri Lanka have been killed in the coastal area of Hambantota alone. Meanwhile, urban coastal areas of Mount Lavinia and Dehiwela have also been affected, as the waves reached the railway tracks running parallel to the coastline.
C. Rodrigo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

We are in an apartment over looking the beaches Batu Ferringhi and Tangjung Bungah. The first tidal surge came in very fast around 3pm, washing away a fishing village nearby. Fishing boats capsized as the surge hits. Ambulances are going up and down with beach tending to casualties.
Daniel McKinney, Penang, Malaysia

Because of the Christmas celebration there were more than 2000 pilgrims stationed in Vailankanni, out of which half of them were staying in the hotels nearby the sea, and 300 and more bathing in the sea, there are piles of dead people being brought to the hospitals and still more unfound.
Sebastin Sanjay, Vailankanni, TN, India

We were able to text Koh Pha-Ngan (Thailand) and confirm that the island has not been touched.
Tim Cordy, Grantham UK