Charlie Bird reports from Sri Lanka in the days following the Indian Ocean earthquake.
On 26 December 2004, the largest earthquake in the world for forty years struck south-east Asia. Measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale, it unleashed massive tidal waves which killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over a million others.
Seven countries in the region were struck by a tsunami. Coastal communities in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka are reported as being the worst affected.
The bustling city of Galle in Sri Lanka like many others received no warning and was completely unprepared for what happened. An Irish couple Liam and Harriet Donlon escaped with their two children, and tell RTÉ News reporter Charlie Bird what they saw.
Total destruction and devastation within seconds.
A doctor at the mortuary at the main hospital in Galle says that so far they have received over 2000 bodies. Documentation of the deceased is ongoing, but it has not been possible to identify them all.
The majority of the foreign bodies were not identified.
The cleanup has begun in downtown Galle, but with thousands of people still unaccounted for, it is unclear exactly how many lives have been lost.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 30 December 2004. The reporter is Charlie Bird.
