Tidal wave toll tops 20,000 in southern Asia
Millions homeless as international aid arrives

The Associated Press
Updated: 6:30 a.m. ET Dec. 27, 2004
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka

Rescuers scoured Asia's coastlines for survivors of devastating tidal waves that obliterated seaside towns in nine countries, killing more than 20,900 people. Aid poured into the region, but morgues and hospitals struggled to cope with the tragedy.

Hundreds of children were buried in mass graves in India as grieving parents looked on.

The death toll began climbing sharply after Sunday morning's 9.0-magnitude quake that struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia, the most powerful temblor in four decades.

The waves sped away from the epicenter at over 500 mph before crashing into the region's shorelines without warning, sweeping people and fishing villages out to sea. Millions were displaced from their homes and thousands were missing.