People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in modern history.
Many wept openly at the mass grave in the village of Ulee Lheue, where more than 14,000 unidentified and unclaimed tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province. It was one of the areas most affected by the earthquake and tsunami, along with Aceh Besar district.
A powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on December 26, 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people in a dozen countries and reached as far as East Africa.
About 1.7 million people have been displaced, mostly in the four hardest-hit countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.
Even though 20 years have now passed, the grief remains and survivors still remember their loved ones lost to the huge waves that leveled buildings in most coastal areas of Aceh – all the way to the city of Banda Aceh have equalized.
CBC News correspondent Evan Solomon reports from Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on the devastating impact of the 2004 tsunami
The infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now more resilient than before the tsunami. Early warning systems have been installed in coastal areas to warn residents of possible tsunamis, giving them crucial time to reach safety.
The reconstruction effort was made possible by the support of international donors and organizations, which contributed significant resources to the region’s recovery.
Schools, hospitals and key infrastructure destroyed by the disaster have been rebuilt with increased strength and durability to ensure better preparedness for future challenges.
The tsunami also claimed the lives of over 8,000 people in Thailand, including many who are still missing, and left a deep scar on the country’s history. Nearly 400 bodies remain unidentified and unclaimed.
