"This is not only a natural disaster but a man-made disaster."

"The army confiscates these things and brings them to Buddhist temples, or brings them to welfare centres without co-ordinating with us.........this is not only a natural disaster but a man-made disaster....The government has not issued anything, not even one rupee of food....Everything we're giving out is from our own local fundraising and collections." - Kirupa Sivam, TRO co-ordinator for Batticaloa - Speaking to Martin Regg Cohn, of Torornto Star.

" I thought, 'This is how you die'."

" It was so quick, it washed us so far away - the carriage kept filling up with water. I was telling my friend to run to the front of the carriage, the windows there were still above the water. I pushed my friend through the window to get her up out of the carriage. There was a woman next to me holding her baby trying to hold the window open with the other hand. As I tried to help her the carriage filled completely, the water pushing the window shut...Only my friend managed to get out... Back at the other end of the carriage it was dark, I held my breath, I thought, 'This is how you die'." Tourist Danny Shahaf, an Israeli living in London, was on the "Samudra Devi"

" My condolences also go to our Muslim and Sinhala brethren in southern coastal areas.."

"I convey my feeling of attachment, consolation and deepest condolences to our people who have lost their beloved and dearest, and undergoing unbearable sorrow and pain. My condolences also go to our Muslim and Sinhala brethren in the southern coastal areas, who have lost their kith and kin, and in deep sorrow. I also take this opportunity to express my condolences and share the grief of all the people in the South Asian nations, India and Tamil Nadu in particular, on whom had befallen this disaster " - V.Prabakaran, LTTE leader.

"The dead are the lucky ones."

"Unawatuna has been massacred," he said. "The dead are the lucky ones". Winton, an-Policeman from Unawatuna, getting angry; he could not understand why the helicopters were hovering but no one had come to help on the ground - and he did not know where to bury his mother.

"It is too early for us to state what our financial burden will be."

"This is primarily a human tragedy. It is too early for us to state what our financial burden will be." - Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer.

"We need help and we need it now."

"We are getting close to desperation," warns Sumantha, a school teacher in Galle. "We need help and we need it now."

"We are a family of eight,"

"My children haven't eaten in three days. We need milk, cereals and water. There is no sign of the government or of any food aid." - Ramaya, a fisherman in Galle.

"It was absolute and uncomplicated grief."

" The family of my sister's maid have been struck hard. The brother-in-law was in the bus that was taken out to sea, and a son who was driving a taxi has not contacted them since the tsunami. I had never seen a woman cry like her before. It was absolute and uncomplicated grief." Graeme Pietersz lives in Sri Lanka with his wife and two year-old daughter, telling BBC News about his experiences during and aftermath.

"Sri Lankans, they have troubles. But they're always smiling."

That was Madeline Drexler, a Boston-based journalist and author quoting of what she knew of Sri Lanka pre-tsunami, in a Boston Globe Op-Ed. She ends the piece by saying, "Perhaps not now that their lullaby of an ocean has become a dirge."

"Kohl intends to complete his holiday,"

A spokesman for Mr Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said the 74-year-old had been staying at a coastal resort in Sri Lanka, where he was undergoing heath spa treatments, and was not hurt. "Kohl intends to complete his holiday," he added. It was also reported that former Chancellor was airlifted to a safe area by Sri Lankan air force.

"This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history."

"This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history because it is affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas... so many vulnerable communities," - UN emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland speaking to CNN.

" We are piling up bodies outside the hospital "

“The wave would have sucked homes and people back into the sea. Few could have resisted its force. We think that whole areas have been buried under sand dug up by the wave’s power.......the hospital mortuary is full. We are piling up bodies outside the hospital” - Dr. M. Baghavan, Kalmunai Base Hospital