Chief government spokesperson Ahmed Shaheed said the economic damage to the atoll island nation was estimated at more than 1.3 billion dollars, or twice the tiny Indian Ocean nation's gross domestic product.

The government also postponed parliamentary elections on the atoll nation due to be held on Friday, delaying the voting until January 22, it said.

The announcements came as the Maldives said Tuesday it feared the death toll from the tsunami could be much higher than the officially confirmed body count of 55.

The government said another 69 were missing after the tsunami hit its 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator.

The country has been a major campaigner on the issue of global warming fearing even a small rise in sea level from melting polar ice caps could swamp its islands, most of which are barely above sea level.

Officials said they expected the death toll to rise as information from outer atolls was still coming in.

They added about 9,000 people from 20 islands were driven out of their homes and at least 2,000 houses had been damaged.

"Our main problem is with transport and communications. Relief aid efforts have been hampered by this," Shaheed said.

The entire island of Dhiffushi, a tourist destination, was submerged and would have to be rebuilt from scratch.

Tour companies had begun evacuating stranded tourists, but the exact numbers were not immediately known. However, three British tourists including a woman were confirmed dead.

About 125 people were admitted to the government-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital here while 34 people were taken to a private hospital.

Meanwhile, two Indian air force aircraft carrying food and water arrived in Male and were helping with the relief effort.

Three Indian navy ships, INS Mysore, INS Aditya and INS Udaygiri, had also been dispatched to the Maldives, the Indian diplomatic mission here said in a statement.

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