Death toll in Indonesia could top 25,000

There were post-apocalyptic scenes in the main city of Banda Aceh where the stench of death hung over the rubble of demolished houses as survivors from Sunday's earthquake and tsunami struggled to dig graves in tropical heat.

Along the region's isolated western shoreline there was only eerie silence pierced by an SOS call from what remained of the main town, where police said time was running out for survivors as looting broke out and starvation loomed.

With medicines, water, body bags, electricity and communications still in short supply, the threat of disease epidemics was growing while foreign aid agencies struggled to get relief to the area.