Hundreds, mainly poor fishermen, were missing in the wake of the dawn quake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale in Indonesia whose aftershocks took a heavy toll in the Andaman and Nicobar islands as well in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

This is one of the worst tragedies to strike India since the January 2001 quake of Gujarat killed nearly 25,000. The government's Crisis Management Group said this is the first time that tsunamis, or giant tidal waves, have ever hit the Indian coast.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured states hit by the devastating tsunamis of all support and assistance for relief and rehabilitation efforts and appealed to his people to remain calm.

Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, reported about 100 deaths and seawater seeped into the nuclear power plant at Kalpakkam, forcing it to shut down. A special Indian Army unit wasmobilized to deal with the situation and the Crisis Management Group said the plant was "fully safe".

Thousands of people fled their homes in Chennai as the tremors lasted for several minutes and seawater entered their properties, catching them unawares and triggering unprecedented panic.

The tidal waves caused flooding in central areas and a power outage in thickly populated parts. The Chennai airport was shut and all flights to and from the city were canceled till Sunday evening.

Television channels beamed scenes of destruction in the Andamans and along the winding and thickly populated Tamil Nadu coast. Fishing vessels out at sea were washed ashore, and cars andtrucks were seen floating in the waters that inundated the coastalareas.

Survivors said people who had gathered on the beach in Chennai to buy seafood in the morning had been dragged away by waves that were up to six meters high. Policemen later cordoned off beaches in the city.

Officials in Chennai said 2,000 fishermen had been evacuated. The tidal waves also breached the port and containers were swept out to sea.

Houses and shops along the coast suffered varying degrees of damage. The homes of fishermen, made mostly of straw held togetherby strings, collapsed, burying many.

Mangled and badly swollen bodies lay strewn in fishing hamlets.Hundreds were taken to hospitals in Chennai and other cities.

According to local officials, the coastal district of Cuddalorein Tamil Nadu reported 190 fatalities.

Officials in Andhra Pradesh capital Hyderabad said they expected the toll to rise as reports of missing fishermen were pouring in from dozens of villages along the state's 1,000-km-longcoastline.

Some 700 fishermen were reported missing in Prakasam district alone and Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy announced the payment of Rs.100,000 as compensation to the kin of the dead.

Hundreds of families were evacuated from the low-lying areas ofAndhra Pradesh and fishermen were warned not to venture out to seaas more aftershocks were expected.

At Machlipatnam in Krishna district, 25 bodies, most of them women and children, were found at Manginapudi beach. Most of the dead were Hindus who had come for a dip in the sea on the eve of the full moon during the holy month of Margasirsa.

Orissa and West Bengal were also hit, with the latter state reporting two deaths near Kolkata.

In the Andaman and Nicobar islands, the destruction was unprecedented, with the gigantic tidal waves sinking two civilian ships and destroying dry docks - which would not be operational for six months - and a fuel tank.

Some 45,000 people on the Car Nicobar and Great Nicobar islandswere affected, officials said. Three An-32 transport planes of theIndian Air Force were sent with relief materials to the islands.

The airport at Port Blair suffered some damage, the Crisis Management Group said. Flights resumed after the navy, which is incharge of the airport, cleared it. "If necessary, additional flights will be organized to evacuate tourists," the group said ina statement.

The tsunamis and tremors, felt along India's eastern coast from6:15 a.m. (2:45 GMT), were caused by a huge quake with its epicenter off Indonesia's Sumatra island.

The Indian Navy sent two warships with relief materials to Sri Lanka following a request for assistance from the island nation, which suffered a death toll of at least 3,000 so far.