The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday sought from the Centre Rs 4,800 crore and 54,000 tonnes of food grains for relief and rehabilitation of tsunami victims.

Thanking the Centre for announcing an immediate relief of Rs 250 crore, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, in letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] and Home Minister Shivraj Patil, said it was an "unprecedented" disaster.

The total damage will "run into several thousands of crores of rupees and will require a more detailed assessment", she added.

Jayalalithaa said that when she met the PM during his visit to the state on December 27, 2004, she had informed him, "Given the nature of this calamity, furious and ferocious along the coastline, the normal norms of Calamity Relief Fund cannot apply and a special package should be developed."

"You had also agreed with this suggestion and indicated that this would be the basis for making the assessment," she said in her letter. "As you have seen for yourself, this is a totally unprecedented tragedy of extreme devastation and destruction involving huge loss of lives. It is undoubtedly a calamity of rare severity and a type hitherto quite unknown in India. It calls for a special treatment."