Tidal waves swamped towns in northwestern Indonesia close to the epicentre of this morning's undersea earthquake, killing at least 4,185 people, the health ministry said. Most of the dead were in the province of Aceh, which lies on the northern tip of Sumatra Island. At least 83 people were killed in north Sumatra province and on the island of Nias, to the west of Sumatra close to the epicentre of the 8.9 magnitude quake. Communication links to several regions in Aceh were still cut off as night fell some 12 hours after the quake struck, raising fears that the death toll would rise further. At least 50,000 people had fled their homes and taken refuge in government offices or other buildings on higher ground, said north Aceh district head Alam Syah. Hundreds were still unaccounted for, officials said. The corpses of at least six children were laid on stretchers in morgues at one hospital in the northern Acehnese city of Lhokseumawe, witnesses said. Local Metro TV station showed a screaming mother hugging and kissing her dead child. Health ministry official Pitoyo said 4,102 people had died in Aceh province, and 83 on Nias and in north Sumatra province. "We are still waiting for more numbers," said Pitoyo, who goes by a single name. "It will surely rise." Some 1,400 people were killed in the Aceh provincial capital, Banda Aceh. Communications to the town had been cut since the quake struck earlier today. The earthquake - the most powerful in 40 years - triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into coastlines across Asia, killing more than 11,300 people in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Thailand. The government struggled to respond to the disaster in Aceh, which has been torn by separatist violence for 26 years. Jakarta has prevented foreign journalists and aid agencies from visiting the region for more than a year. It appeared likely that the restrictions on international aid workers would be lifted to allow emergency supplies to be sent to the province. "We still don't know what's happening there because of a lack of communication," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla. "We're sending our two top ministers to Aceh right now. We're also preparing food supplies, medicines and makeshift shelters as emergency backup." Thousands of people abandoned their homes and were headed for higher ground after the earthquake, centred 40 kilometres (25 miles) below the seabed, sent waves surging inland at about 8am (0100 GMT), officials said. An AP reporter in the village of Lancuk close to Lhokseumawe saw several bodies wedged in trees amid a scene of destruction. "Waves as high as two or three metres suddenly rose up in the sea," said a fisherman who identified himself as Marzuki. "The water has destroyed dozens of houses." | 
