GROUND SITUATION
Thousands  have died, Millions have been displaced, after a violent earthquake under the sea near northern Indonesia sent huge waves crashing into coastal areas across south and east Asia. Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval because of its proximity to the "Ring of Fire", an area around the Pacific Ocean basin where tectonic plates intersect and volcanoes erupt.

The quake occurred close to the island of Sumatra. Two tectonic plates, the Australian and Eurasian plates, meet just off Sumatra's south-west coast, grinding together and sending periodic seismic tremors through the region.At 0759 (0059 GMT) a violent rupture occurred on the sea floor along a fault about 1,000km long.

All along the rupture the seafloor was shunted vertically by about 10 metres. This movement displaced hundreds of cubic kilometres of the overlaying water, generating a massive tsunami, or sea surge.The wave then fanned out across the Indian Ocean at enormous speed.

The 9 magnitude quake, which was the strongest in the world for at least 40 years, wreaked havoc across the whole region. Walls of water, tens of metres high, slammed into coastal areas thousands of miles apart. Surging seas and floods were reported as far away as east Africa.

Millions of people have been affected. Whole communities have been wiped out, and many of the survivors have been left homeless. Thousands of unidentified bodies have had to be buried or burned.The UN has mobilised one of the world's largest relief operations, but admits co-ordinating aid to 10 affected countries will be tough.

New figures reveal at least 155,000 people died in Sunday's ocean disaster, as aid agencies struggle to provide relief to the Indian Ocean region, of which about 42,000 are from Sri Lanka

Millions are displaced and homeless, thousands are still missing without trace.

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