Indonesia was the first country to be seriously affected by the earthquake and tsunami created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004, swamping the northern and western coastal areas of Sumatra, and the smaller outlying islands off Sumatra. Nearly all the casualties and damage took place within the province of Aceh. The time of arrival of the tsunami was between 15 and 30 minutes after the deadly earthquake. According to the country's National Disaster Relief Coordination Agency, around 130,000 people were dead and 37,063 were missing. In addition, the UN estimated that 655,000 people were homeless and sheltering in scattered refugee camps across the province. As of January 23, 2005 the Health Ministry reported 173,981 dead while the Social Affairs Ministry registered 114,978 killed. On 25 January 2005 Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari updated the estimated death total to 220,000. On 7 April 2005 the estimated number of missing was reduced by more than 50,000 giving a final total of 167,540 dead and missing. Aftermath Northern Sumatra took damage from the earthquake itself as a tsunami landed on it. However, most of the damage was the result of the tsunami that struck the coastal regions of the Aceh and to a much lesser extent the North Sumatra provinces. The west coast of Aceh was about 100 km (60 mi) from the epicenter and took very heavy damage as far south as Tapaktuan. The coastal town of Lhoknga was hit by tsunami waves of more than 20 to 25 meters with run-up heights of more than 30 meters in some places. Ten-meter tall waves passed the northern tip of the island to race south down the Straits of Malacca and strike along the northeast coast as far east as Lhokseumawe. Reports from those who flew over the Aceh coast reported a virtually destroyed coastline. In many towns and villages, concrete pads were all that was left of substantial structures, while scattered corrugated iron roofs crumpled like paper wore the only evidence of flimsier houses. A few intact mosques rose amazingly from the wasteland. "You can't really explain. There used to be towns and cities there. All the people once had homes, lives," said Petty Officer 1st Class Scott Wickland from the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. "Now there is nothing." Relief efforts and communication along the western coastline were complicated because the one road along the coast