Indonesia's vice president reportedly thinks 25,000 people may be dead in his country alone from Sunday's huge earthquake and tidal waves.

That would be five times the current estimate there, and greater than the death toll for the entire tragedy so far. Officials note that many parts of northern Sumatra must still be checked.

So far, the death toll from the powerful quake and tsunamis is nearly 23,000 in 10 countries. Bodies are washing up on tropical beaches, and millions of survivors are homeless.

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Interactives: Tsunami Map | Earthquakes
Info: Fact Sheet, Relief Agencies
Updated: Images Of Damage, Destruction
Video: Thailand | Sri Lanka | Malaysia
Video: Colin Powell Offers Sympathy

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Eight Americans have been reported dead, and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said several hundred more are missing.

The magnitude 9 quake in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia Sunday was the most powerful worldwide in four decades. Waves sped away from the epicenter at more than 500 mph before crashing into the region's shorelines without warning, sweeping people and villages out to sea.

Millions have been displaced and thousands are missing.

The new International Red Cross death-toll figures are based on tallies from government and other sources. Nine nations have reported fatalities. Hardest hit was Sri Lanka, where 12,000 deaths have been recorded. India had 6,000 deaths, and Indonesia had 4,700.

As many as half the victims are believed to be children.

An official of the U.N. Children's Fund said the concern now is that children who survived the tsunamis may be at severe risk from their aftermath. He said young children -- many of whom may now be orphaned -- are the most vulnerable to disease and lack of proper nutrition and water.

Children make up at least half of the population in Asia. Many of the poorest work with parents who fish in coastal areas. And many children from more affluent families may have been seaside for Sunday outings.

In Sri Lanka, crowds came to the beaches after word spread that it was producing larger-than-normal waves. Thousands of children had joined their elders to view the spectacle and to pick up fish from the shores when the biggest of the waves hit.

However tragic the human toll, the economic impact of the huge earthquake and tidal waves is apparently limited. That's largely because the coastal areas swamped had little heavy industry. They were populated mostly by fishermen and farmers. Even in Indonesia, near where the quake was centered, most of the natural gas industry was shielded from the effects.

Considering the strength of the quake, insurance claims will be minimal because so much was uninsured. Resorts and properties owned by multinational corporations are the exception. Insured losses might be no more than a few billion dollars.

But tourism is sure to take a hit, which could be tough for places like India's Maldives Islands. The area gets more than half of its foreign currency through tourism.

The waves that followed Sunday's earthquake registered as far away as the west coast of the U.S., according to a researcher with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. The center recorded quake-related waves along the Pacific coasts of the United States, Mexico and South America.

He called it a "multi-ocean" tsunami -- probably the first since the 1883 eruption of the Krakatoa volcano. The wave generated by that eruption killed 36,000 people.

Survivors described a watery scene of destruction.

One Indian coastal resident said it was shocking to see "fishing boats flying on the shoulder of the waves."

An Indonesian man, who doesn't know where to bury his wife and children, asked simply, "What shall I do?"

An Indonesian fisherman said he noticed a strange silence before the disaster, then the water rapidly receded. He said villagers shouted, "The sea is drying out!" Then it returned, sweeping his home away. He said there's "nothing left except the clothes" he's wearing.

In Thailand, a British tourist said he saw 15 bodies, and the waves "flattened everything."

Among the dead in southern Thailand was the grandson of the country's king. The 21-year-old was reportedly jet-skiing when the deadly wave struck.

A German tourist in Sri Lanka said he was about to leave his hotel room when a wave came crashing in. Then, a wall collapsed on him, and hotel workers rescued him.

Thousands of emergency and military personnel continued to add up the magnitude of the tragedy. Officials continue to report a rising death toll, with children buried in mass graves in India.

The surging seas stretched as far away as Africa, where hundreds are feared dead in Somalia. A Somali presidential spokesman said entire coastal villages have vanished.

Across southern Asia, beaches have been turned into open-air mortuaries, even as the search for the living continues. In Thailand, warships were sent to check remote tropical resorts for survivors.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted at one Thai airport as hundreds of tourists -- many wounded and weeping -- tried to board planes for the capital.

Sri Lanka Reports Highest Death Toll

In Sri Lanka, the bodies of the dead were still being recovered from all across the island nation on Monday.

Latest figures put the death toll there at more than 12,000 as bodies are found in areas under government control and those held by the Tamil rebels.

One small hospital is coping with about 1,100 patients, while its makeshift morgues are packed with 800 bodies. Outside, more bodies arrive by tractor, as a large crowd gathers to learn the fate of missing family members.

The Sri Lankan government has launched a Web site and opened phone lines to help foreigners trace relatives believed in Sri Lanka when the disaster struck. Officials say at least 72 foreigners are among the dead, but about 650 have been found to be safe.

As many as 25,000 soldiers have been rushed to the Sri Lankan coastal areas to deliver aid and crack down on looting. Some looters are reportedly duping residents into leaving their homes by saying new tidal waves are coming.

U.S. Families Anxious For Word On Relatives In Asia

Overloaded phone lines are making it tough for U.S. immigrants to get news of relatives in areas affected by Sunday's quake.

Even as many tourists cancel visits to the region, some immigrants are booking trips home to help in search and rescue efforts. A worker at the Indonesian consulate in New York is making plans after learning his sister's home had been destroyed.

One Californian spent much of the weekend trying to reach loved ones in Sri Lanka. He eventually found out his in-laws survived after climbing to the roof of their home. He's had no luck finding other relatives.

In California, local Web sites have been transformed into pipelines for aid efforts and news updates. And in New York, the president of the United Sri Lanka Society said he's been fielding phone calls from people all over the country. Many are asking how to donate food and clothing.

An Illinois man is among those missing. Relatives say 33-year-old Ben Abels was on a three-week vacation in Thailand with a friend when a huge wall of water hit their bungalow Sunday on the island of Phi Phi, reported WMAQ-TV in Chicago.

Abels, of Evanston, Ill., was planning to return from his trip on Monday.

His mother, Hope Abels, said his friend and traveling companion is hospitalized after losing her hand and suffering a leg injury in the rush of water. While rescuers found her, there have apparently been no signs of Abels.

In Lexington, Mass., the Majumdar family has been waiting to hear from relatives in their home country of India.

"They don't deserve this. They don't," said Radhika Majumdar. "The worst part is they are showing children. Most of them are children. I just cry for the children."

Majumda said she has seen the images of the dead on television, but she can only wonder about the fate of her relatives who live in Chennai, a coastal city hit by the tsunamis.

"There is no way of correspondence or communication," said Laxmi Sundaram.

Mem Rosse, 44, is a Thai native and a student at Kirkwood Community College in Des Moines, Iowa. Rosse said her father lives in a remote village in the south Asian country, reported KCCI-TV in Des Moines. Rosse said she tried calling her father Sunday, but phones in the Thai village were out of service.

Chari Thirumalai, of Overland Park, Mo., was able to make contact with his parents and brothers in India. His friend, Narinder Singh, has an uncle and cousin there. He is still waiting to hear if they survived the tsunamis, reported KMBC-TV in Kansas City, Mo.

"I've been trying to connect with them this morning but have been unable to do that," Singh said.

John Tidball, of Lincoln, Neb., knows his son is safe in Sri Lanka.

Tidball said he received an e-mail from his son, Tom, assuring his family he had survived the quake and tidal waves. Tom Tidball runs a medical clinic in Sri Lanka, where more than 4,500 deaths were reported. A shelter for homeless children overseen by Tom Tidball was destroyed.

Tom Tidball sent his father photos of the damage, reported KETV in Omaha, Neb.

"To know that that devastation has hit that little island -- it's really hard to take and hard to imagine," said John Tidball. "He said that's right on the beach area, and it was practically devastated, and it's practically wiped out."

Luckily, John Tidball said, no children were inside the building at the time the tsunami hit.

Want to help? Information on relief agencies

Relief Efforts Under Way

A White House spokesman said the United States will be a leading force in the relief operation in the parts of south Asia devastated by massive tsunamis Sunday.

The spokesman called it one of the most significant relief and rescue operations the world has ever known.

President George W. Bush sent letters of condolences to the leaders of seven nations recovering from the disaster. The president is on vacation in Texas, but aides say he has been briefed and is watching pictures of the damage on television.

A White House spokesman called the devastation a terrible tragedy and said the Bush administration is keeping those who are suffering in its thoughts and prayers.

Deputy press secretary Trent Duffy said, "The U.S. stands ready" to do whatever is needed. The White House offered to send troops from nearby Okinawa.

A Navy official said three P-3 Orion aircraft have been deployed to Thailand from Diego Garcia, an island base in the Indian Ocean. The aircraft are geared for survey work. The spokesman said they don't engage directly in search and rescue operations, but they are an invaluable resource for such missions. Their crews can spot people stranded in the tidal wave area and can even drop life rafts to them.

The U.S. State Department warned Americans to avoid travel to Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the southwestern area of Thailand. A new travel advisory asks U.S. citizens in those areas to leave as soon as safe transportation is available. European nations offered similar warnings.

The United Nations is also working to coordinate an international relief effort.

Emergency relief coordinator Yvette Stevens said the focus is on the first countries to ask for help and those that are having the most difficulty.

Stevens pointed to India as an example of a country that is likely to cope with many of the problems on its own. Her office is working with groups such as the International Red Cross to put "maximum efforts" where they are needed most.

She called the situation "unprecedented."

The 25-member European Union promised $4 million in assistance. Japanese, Chinese and Russian experts are on the way to the region to help.

2-Year-Old Child Survives; His Identity A Mystery

Officials in Thailand are speaking different languages to a 2-year-old survivor of Sunday's tsunamis, hoping to learn what country he is from.

The toddler somehow made it through the disaster, but his parents are missing. The family may have been vacationing at a resort in the area.

Authorities think the child is foreign because he has blond hair, but they aren't sure about his nationality. He speaks only in a sort of baby talk, and no one can figure out what language it is. One worker said the boy did seem to react when someone spoke Swedish to him.

The child was found alone and outside in a resort where hundreds of tourists had been swept away.

Victims Include Tourists From Across Globe

Tourists from many nations were killed, injured or trapped after the quake.

The injured include a British man who said he reached safety only to be surrounded by crocodiles.

The Italian foreign ministry said at least 11 of its citizens are dead. About 100 other Italians are listed among the missing.

Norway said it's trying to confirm reports that five of its nationals were killed. At least two Swedes, three Danes, two French and two Belgians also have died.

An unspecified number of Spaniards are hospitalized.

In Athens, the Foreign Ministry said that a chartered Olympic Airlines jet left for Phuket with diplomats, a doctor and a supply of passports for about 300 Greek tourists stranded on the Thai resort. The jet also will fly them home if necessary.

Several international sports stars were vacationing in Southern Asia when tidal waves swept through the region over the weekend, but none are known to be injured. Skiing great Ingemar Stenmark, a winner of two Olympic gold medals and 86 World Cup races, was sunbathing on a beach in Thailand when he and his girlfriend had to run for their lives.

The bungalow of former Austrian tennis star Thomas Muster was hit in the Maldives, but he was unhurt.

An Italian newspaper says French soccer star Zinedine Zidane was vacationing on Reunion Island off Madagascar. With European soccer in its winter break, many players had headed to resorts in warmer climates. No soccer players were reported injured.