The tsunami memorials in the Indian Ocean commemorate 20 years since one of history’s deadliest natural disasters

People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday, marking the 20th anniversary of the mass graves Tsunami in the Indian Ocean struck the region in one of the worst natural disasters in modern history.

Many wept as they laid flowers at a mass grave in the village of Ulee Lheue, where more than 14,000 unidentified tsunami victims are buried. It is one of many mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province, one of the areas hardest hit by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake and the enormous tsunami it caused. was caused.

“We miss them and we still don’t know where they are. All we know is that every year we visit the mass grave in Ulee Lhue and Siron,” said Muhamad Amirudin, who lost two of his children 20 years ago and never died again. found their bodies.

“This life is only temporary, so we do our best to be useful to others,” said Amirudin, who visited the grave with his wife.

Another man there, Nurkhalis, 52, told Reuters news agency that his wife, children, parents and in-laws had all been swept away by the tsunami.

“Even though time has passed, the same feeling haunts us on this date, especially those of us who lost our families at that time,” he said.

The powerful earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on December 26, 2004 caused a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries as far away as East Africa. Waves as high as 100 feet swept away nearly everything – and everyone – in their path.

That was about 1.7 million people displacedespecially in the four worst affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.

Even though 20 years have passed, survivors in Indonesia are still mourning the loved ones they lost to the massive wave that flattened buildings as far away as the provincial capital Banda Aceh.

Hundreds of people gathered to pray at the Baiturrahman Mosque in central Banda Aceh. Sirens sounded throughout the city for three minutes to signal the time of the earthquake.

Indonesia, located along the fault lines that make up the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis. It has suffered another disaster in 2018 when huge waves were caused by an earthquake in Sulawesi, thousands dead.

In 2004, the infrastructure in Aceh was rebuilt and is now more resilient than before the tsunami. Early warning systems have been installed in coastal areas to warn residents of impending tsunamis, providing crucial time to seek safety.

The reconstruction efforts were made possible by the support of international donors and organizations, which contributed significant funds to help the region recover. Schools, hospitals and essential infrastructure destroyed by the disaster have been reconstructed.

In Thailand, people gathered for a memorial ceremony in Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village in Phang Nga province that bore the brunt of the devastating wave in the country.

The tsunami claimed the lives of more than 8,000 people in Thailand, including many who are still missing, and left a deep scar in the country’s history. Nearly 400 bodies remain unclaimed.

Mourners wept and comforted each other as they laid flowers at the village’s tsunami memorial. About 300 people took part in a modest ceremony with Islamic, Christian and Buddhist prayers.

Urai Sirisuk said she avoids the seaside memorial park for the rest of the year because the loss of her four-year-old daughter still hits home every time she is reminded of it.

“I feel like the sea has taken my child. I’m very angry about it. I can’t even put my foot in the water,” she said.

But she said, “I still hear her voice in my ears, calling for me. I can’t abandon her. So I have to be here, for my child.”

In India, hundreds gathered at Marina Beach in the southern city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state. They poured milk into the sea to appease the gods and offered flowers and prayers for the dead while drums sounded in the background.

According to official data, 10,749 people were killed in India, including nearly 7,000 in Tamil Nadu alone.

“It’s been 20 years since the tsunami happened,” said 69-year-old Sadayammal, who uses one name. “We are here to pay respects to the people who lost their lives.”

In Sri Lanka, survivors and relatives of tsunami victims gathered in the coastal town of Pereliya and laid flowers at a monument in memory of nearly 2,000 passengers who died when their train, the Queen of the Sea, was struck by the wave. It is believed that only a few dozen people survived.

Anura Ranjith joined mourners to pay respects to his younger sister, Anula Ranjani, and her 9-year-old daughter who were passengers on the train. Ranjith never heard from them again after that day.

“I have searched everywhere for them for years, but still no information about them. Their loss is a great sadness and pain for me. I am still grieving,” he said.

In total, more than 35,000 people died in the tsunami in Sri Lanka. People across the country observed two minutes of silence on Thursday in memory of those who lost their lives.

There was little to no warning at the time, but in the years since the 2004 disaster there has been a tsunami warning system was set up to help protect the region. A network of seismometers to detect undersea earthquakes, along with tide gauges and ocean buoys, can pick up early signals of the tremors that cause tsunamis, and improved communications networks help get these warnings to officials around the world.