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Three days after the powerful earthquake-tsunamis that struck some South and Southeast Asian countries on Sunday, the latest reports from the affected nations put the death toll at more than 63,000. (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

    BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Three days after the powerful earthquake-tsunamis that struck some South and Southeast Asian countries on Sunday, the latest reports from the affected nations put the death toll at more than 63,000.

A woman is searching for something still useful after the powerful earthquake-tsunamis in India.

    The death toll from Sunday's powerful earthquake and tsunami has reached 27,174 in Indonesia, the Health Ministry said late Tuesday.

    In a statement, the ministry said the figure came in after the dead were counted in Banda Aceh and the western areas of Meulaboh and Aceh Jaya.

     According to the statement, nearly all the deaths were in the country's province of Aceh at the tip of Sumatra, which was struck by tidal waves triggered by a magnitude-8.7 earthquake.

    The death toll in Sri Lanka has risen to 21,715 three days after a tsunami battered the island.

    The tsunami resulted from the earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, which sent high waves crashing onto Sri Lanka's eastern and southern shores.

    Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga called for national unity on Tuesday to rebuild the country devastated by the tsunamis that killed thousands of people in the nation.

    "I truly believe that this is the time for us to shed all our differences and unite to meet the challenge of rebuilding our country," Kumaratunga said in a televised address.

    Besides killing people, the tsunami also hit the local tourism industry really hard.

    In Trincomalee, one of Sri Lanka's most attractive tourist spots with its beautiful beach and hospitable residents, a lot of hotels had been destroyed.

    In the Nilaveli region of Trincomalee, the 30-year-old Nilaveli Beach Hotel was swept away. All the 86 guest rooms were inundated on Sunday and nearly half of the villa-style buildings collapsed.