BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.
Many wept as they placed flowers at a mass grave in Ulee Lheue village, where more than 14,000 unidentified tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province, which was one of the areas worst hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and the massive tsunami it triggered.
“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 has never found their bodies.
“This life is only temporary, so we do our best to be useful to others,” Amirudin, visiting the grave with his wife, said.
The powerful earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa. Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly 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 grieving the loved ones they lost to the giant wave that flattened buildings all the way to the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
Hundreds of people gathered to pray at the Baiturrahman Mosque in downtown Banda Aceh. Sirens sounded across the city for three minutes to mark the time of the earthquake.
Infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now more resilient than before the tsunami struck. Early warning systems have been installed in coastal areas to alert residents of incoming tsunamis, providing crucial time to seek safety.
The rebuilding 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 at 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 over 8,000 people in Thailand, including many who remain missing, leaving a deep scar in the nation’s history. Nearly 400 bodies remain unclaimed.
Mourners shed tears and comforted each other as they laid flowers at the village’s tsunami memorial. Around 300 people joined a modest ceremony with Muslim, Christian and Buddhist prayers.
Urai Sirisuk said she avoids the seaside memorial park the rest of the year because the loss of her 4-year-old daughter still cuts deep every time she’s reminded of it.
“I have this feeling that the sea has taken my child. I’m very angry with it. I can’t even put my foot in the water,” she said.
