Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Tuesday the death toll from Sunday's powerful earthquake and tidal waves could reach 20,000 to 25,000 as thousands of residents in the affected areas were still missing.
The vice president, who has been on an inspection tour to the affected regions in Aceh, the westernmost province of this country, made the prediction while talking to the press in the North Sumatra capital of Medan.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono flied on Monday directly from the easternmost province of Papua to Sumatra island following his inspection to the victims of the 7.1 degree quake on Nov. 26.
The tsunami triggered by the biggest earthquake in 40 years near Sumatra on Sunday swept through Aceh and North Sumatra.
More than 4,700 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, with some 3,000 of them residents of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh.