At least 52 people were killed andanother 68 were missing in the tsunamis in the Maldives following a powerful earthquake in Indonesia Sunday. officials in the islandcountry said.

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has declared a state of disasterthroughout the low-lying coral islands, news reports from the country said.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.7 according to the Chinese State Seismological Bureau, hit at 6:58 a.m. (0058 GMT) Sunday off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The tsunamis swept across the Indian Ocean hours later without any warning. In some areas, walls of water up to 10 meters uprooted and swept away anything they met.

The powerful earthquake and deadly tsunamis it triggered struckSri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar,Bangladesh and other places, leaving over 22,000 people dead and millions affected across South and South East Asia.