JAKARTA, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The death toll in Southeast Asia from the weekend earthquake and tsunamis has reached 92,000, and could easily surpass 100,000, aid officials warned Thursday.

Indonesia was the hardest hit by the magnitude 9 earthquake, and early Thursday officials there said 52,000 people were confirmed dead. Sri Lanka raised its grim toll to 22,800, while India reported 7,330 confirmed dead. Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Thursday casualties in his country could reach 3,000.

Early Thursday, based on aftershocks, Indian authorities issued a fresh tsunami alert and warned people in coastal areas to head for higher ground, triggering panic in the streets of Port Blair, CNN reported.

Foreign governments have pledged more than $220 million in aid, but the United Nations' relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, said it will take another "two or three days" for the relief effort to get into full swing, the BBC reported.

The force of the earthquake was so great, the island of Sumatra moved 100 feet to the southwest, and the resulting tsunamis killed 100 people in Somalia and one in Kenya, some 4,000 miles away.

New tsunami alert issued in India

MADRAS, India, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Southern Indian officials Thursday issued a fresh tsunami alert, causing panic as people were urged to evacuate coastal areas immediately.

Officials in India's Tamil Nadu state, which was particularly hard hit by Sunday's sea surges, said aftershocks in the Andaman and Nicobar islands could cause more high waves, reported the Press Trust of India.

Local officials overseeing relief operations in the district asked residents of coastal villages to leave immediately.

The latest report in the Hindustan Times Thursday said that 12,500 lives had been lost in India alone. Over 6,000 were in Tamil Nadu.

U.S. airlines report laser incidents

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Laser beams have been reported beaming into six commercial U.S. aircraft on landing approach in four days, CNN reported Thursday.

A government official who asked not to be named told the network none of the flights was affected, and there was no clear evidence it was "some deliberate attempt to target aircraft" or rather a result of "kids who got a laser light for Christmas."

It is against U.S. federal law to intentionally shine a laser beam at a commercial airline flight.

One of the incidents involved a Continental Airlines 737, which was illuminated by a laser Monday as it approached Cleveland, authorities said.

FBI spokesman Bob Hawk said the light, which beamed into the cockpit around 8 p.m., came from a suburb about 15 miles from the airport.

In September, a Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) pilot reported damage to his retina from a laser beam during a landing in Salt Lake City.

Yanukovych election appeals being denied

KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Ukrainian Supreme Court turned down two appeals Thursday from presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

The Moscow-backed prime minister has refused to accept the outcome of Sunday's election in which Western-backed opposition leader Victor Yushchenko won in an internationally monitored re-vote.

Yanukovych's first line of appeal was to the Central Election Committee, which disclosed he raised objections in 225 election districts where he claims the election was corrupted. The committee dismissed all of his complaints, and he then petitioned the high court with four complaints.

Meanwhile, the Moscow-based Rosbizneskonsulting agency said Thursday Yanukovych was preparing to concede and was planning to meet with his close staff to evaluate possible strategies.

Mishaps abound on flight from hell

SEATTLE, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- More than 300 passengers on an Amsterdam to Seattle flight were recovering Thursday after numerous glitches made them 18 hours late, the Seattle Times reported.

Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) nonstop Flight 53 departed Amsterdam one hour late because of de-icing delays Tuesday night. On approach to Seattle-Tacoma International airport, heavy fog forced the DC-10 to hold back and circle. However, fuel was running low, so the craft was rerouted to Grant County International Airport.

Passengers were told they couldn't get off the plane because the airport has neither the infrastructure nor personnel to conduct the kind of federal customs inspections required for international flights. Then they were told they had to wait for a new pilot and crew from Minnesota to take over for the original crew because the Federal Aviation Administration limits work time to 16 consecutive hours.

Weary passengers were then told the new crew had been delayed because their charter plane had a flat tire.

After being fed pizza and soft drinks, passengers and crew departed and arrived in Seattle, 18 hours late, the newspaper said.