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Tsunami in Southeast Asia

Thousands Dead

The magnitude of the tidal wave catastrophe in Southeast Asia is growing by the minute, with most recent estimates putting the death count at nearly 26,000. Mass graves are being dug in some areas to prevent the spread of disease through decaying corpses. And the first reports have emerged of "hundreds" of deaths on the Horn of Africa.

By Monday afternoon, reports confirmed the worst: the disastrous tsunami that struck countries across the Indian Ocean also killed hundreds in Somalia -- 4,500 kilometers away from the epicenter of the Sunday earthquake that unleashed the killer tidal wave. Entire villages were reported to have disappeared along the Horn of Africa.

The wave wrought destruction throughout the Indian Ocean region and beyond, and the death toll -- already at 26,000 -- is still rising by the thousands.

The numbers are so grim that the Indonesian government corrected earlier figures, saying the actual number of dead could be double the original estimates of 5,000. The epicenter of the disastrous undersea earthquake, which shook the entire Indian Ocean region and set off the giant tidal wave, was located near the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Sri Lanka has been hardest hit, with at least 12,029 dead according to estimates by the government and by rebels who control different parts of the island nation. "About 20 villages that were once located near the city of Mullaittivu have been completely wiped off the face of the earth," said Martin Baumann, a project leader for the charity group German Agro Action in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government has dispatched 25,000 soldiers to provide disaster relief aid and to prevent looting.

In India, the flood catastrophe claimed at least 2,958 lives. The country still hasn't been able to provide a casualty estimate for the Nicobar and Andaman Islands. Early estimates suggested about 3,000 deaths, but the International Red Cross says the figure could run as high as 10,000.

Thailand has reported 866 deaths; Malaysia 50; 43 on the Maldives; 30 in Burma and 2 in Bangladesh.

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Across the region, at least 1 million have become homeless as a result of the flooding. Food and shelter shortages have been widely reported and authorities in the catastrophe areas are also fighting the spread of disease. With water still present in many places, authorities haven't been able to bury bodies, and they are quickly decomposing in the tropical heat. Where possible, bodies are simply being placed in mass graves.

Many are children -- a disproportionate amount in some areas because they were weaker and less able to fight the strength of the tsunami and the resulting undertow than grown ups. In the southern Indian city of Cuddalore, close to half of the 400 victims were children. And, AP reports, they were buried in mass graves along the edge of the Pennai River in the Sunday clothing they had been wearing at the time the tsunami struck. Though Hindu tradition calls for adults to be cremated, it holds that children should be given a burial.

Resorts hard hit

Popular tourist destinations across the region were also hard hit and some have been completely wiped out. Officials fear that yet more bodies will be found in the mud and water masses in the flooded areas, including those of foreign tourists who were visiting the holiday paradise. The Japanese media has reported that Thai officials are stating that 80 percent of the stated 800 victims found in the country have been foreigners. Close to 1,000 people are still reported missing in Thailand and 5,000 injured.

Hundreds of thousands of victims spent Sunday night in the open air, and international aid organizations have started massive airlift missions to bring supplies and relief workers into the region.