![Sri Lanka sets aside legal formalities for burials after Asian tidal wave kills over 20,000](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] A Sri Lanka government official said Monday that his government had set aside ordinary legal formalities to facilitate rapid burial of the thousands of victims of Sunday's tsunami that killed more than 10,000 in Sri Lanka alone, according to preliminary figures, and over 23,000 in the region. The tidal wave, which has killed people as far away as Africa, was caused by a massive earthquake in waters off western Indonesia, classified as the most powerful in 40 years, and one of the most powerful ever recorded. From South Africa, News24 has more. From Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror newspaper has continuing local coverage of the disaster. From Indonesia, the Jakarta Post has more. The UN offers information on the general international relief effort here. The American Red Cross has issued a news release on the situation and is accepting immediate donations to its International Response Fund; UNICEF, the UN children's relief fund, has also put out an immediate international appeal.