NAIROBI, Dec 29 (AFP) - At least 114 people were killed when a tsunami wave struck the Somali Indian Ocean coast at the weekend, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
"Latest figures report that at least 114 people have died, over 100 fishing boats are missing and many more people remain unaccounted for," Office of the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia said in a statement released in Nairobi.
Authorities in Somalia's northeastern state of Puntland on Monday said 40 fishermen had died and at least 60 others missing.
"Our efforts to even gauge the full extent of the damage are being hampered by the poor transport and communication networks, which also affect the delivery of emergency relief as we piece together a complete picture of the situation," acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator Elballa Hagona said in the statement.
"What is clear is that the tsunami is a further assault on communities that have already been rendered vulnerable and destitute by the severe drought and subsequent floods that occurred during this year," Hagona added.
The tival waves battered a 650-kilometre (400-mile) stretch of Somali shoreline from the northeastern Island of Hafun in Bari region to the village of Garacad in Mudug, the statement said.
The quake with its epicentre off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Sunday has killed more than 80,000 people across the Indian Ocean.
12/29/2004 18:06 GMT - AFP