At least four Britons have died and thousands more are stranded in south and east Asia after a huge earthquake sent massive waves across the region.
Of the four British victims, two died in the Maldives, one in Thailand, and one in Sri Lanka.
While the overall death toll continues to rise to more than 15,000, there are reports of tourists being swept away as they sunbathed in Phuket, Thailand.
Tourist bungalows were demolished by the waves and hotels were under water.
BBC correspondent Kylie Morris in Phuket said the airport was "chaotic" as hundreds of British tourists, desperate to leave the usually scenic resort, tried to find their way back to Bangkok and flights back to the UK.
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Four empty planes were due to fly from the UK to the Maldives and one to Sri Lanka on Sunday to bring back holidaymakers.
Keith Betton, spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), said: "They are not mercy missions, they are going down anyway, and they are going to fly people back."
With an estimated 10,000 Britons holidaying in the region during this peak season, consular officials were rushing to offer assistance.
ABTA said 5,650 package holidaymakers were known to be in the area, as well as 4,000 independent travellers.
Janette Orr from Swindon in Wiltshire, a survivor of the 1999 Paddington train crash, was one of the Britons affected. Her 20-year-old daughter Felicity was injured at the resort they were staying in near the island of Phuket.
The Foreign Office has advised against any travel to the Maldives and to the affected parts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh.
David Fall, Britain's ambassador to Thailand who is travelling to Phuket, told BBC News 10% of the 750,000 British tourists on holiday in Thailand each year went to Phuket.
He said 784 people were now confirmed dead there and 7,070 were injured.
"We're starting to go around the hospitals to try and get details of the British casualties," he said.
"I was speaking to the Minister of Interior organising the relief operation down here and he was saying so many people had their belongings, passports and identification washed away and it has been very difficult to identify those that have died.
" We heard screaming as a great surge came over the beach and onto the road, flooding the shops and hotel garden "
Eyewitnesses have told how people ran from the beaches to escape giant waves. Hundreds, including many divers and diving instructors, were still reported missing.
The disaster drew condolences from the Queen in a statement to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
"I was deeply saddened to learn of the dreadful situation in Asia following this morning's earthquake," she said.
"Please would you convey my concern and condolences to the governments of the countries that have been affected and my sympathies to the families of all those who have been killed, and to those who have been injured."
Mr Straw described the scale of the disaster as "truly humbling as well as profoundly tragic for everyone involved".
" Suddenly it was complete chaos, people running and screaming as the waves hit "
Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn confirmed his department is sending two people to join UN disaster response teams and said others are on standby to help with what he called a "terrible tragedy".
"We are doing all we can to offer practical help and support," he said.
In Sri Lanka, where at least 4,891 people were killed, an emergency team from the UK mission has been despatched.
At least 72 of the dead were foreign tourists the Sri Lanka Tourist Board said.
At least 4,270 have also been killed in India. But a spokeswoman for the British Embassy in New Delhi, India, said no Britons have been reported hurt in that country.
So far, four British holidaymakers has been confirmed dead. The first was in the Maldives, a victim of flooding.
He was thought to have suffered a heart attack as the tidal wave struck, a Maldives official said.
The Foreign Office has set up a phone number - 0207 008 0000 - for those worried about friends and relatives.
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