It’s been 10 years since the devastating South Asian Tsunami that took the lives of more than 220,000 people and Friday many remembered the victims at beachside memorials with moments of silence.
Reuters noted that memorial services were held in some of the hardest-hit areas of India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Hundreds gathered and prayed in Indonesia’s Aceh province, where over 126,000 people were killed a decade ago.
“It seems there’s no bigger lesson to Aceh than this. It is as if the souls of the dead are still with us,” said provincial governor Zaini Abdullah.
VOA reported that ceremonies commemorating the grim anniversary in Thailand’s southern Phang Nga province brought out family members of the 5,400 nationals and foreigners that lost their lives that day.
On December 26, 2004, one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded occurred off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake then triggered several aftershocks and a massive tsunami along coastal communities in over 14 countries. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.