230,000 people lost in a day: Asia remembers devastating tsunami

[Jonathan Fairfield]

230,000 people lost in a day: Asia remembers devastating tsunami

By Prapan and Chankaew

 

Submerged buildings are seen near the pier at Ton Sai Bay in Thailand's Phi Phi island, December 28, 2004 after a tsunami hit the area. REUTERS/Luis Enrique Ascui/File Photo

 

PHANG NGA, Thailand (Reuters) - Communities across Asia commemorated the 230,000 victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Thursday, the 15th anniversary of one of the world's most deadly disasters.

 

On the morning after Christmas Day in 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off northern Sumatra island triggered a tsunami with waves as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet) that swept over vulnerable coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.

 

Memorials were scheduled in the Indonesian province of Aceh, where entire villages were flattened and more than 125,000 people perished in the giant waves. Since then, the area has been largely rebuilt, with some 25,600 residential, commercial, government and school buildings constructed inside a high-risk zone, that had suffered virtually total devastation in 2004.

 

In Thailand, where more than 5,300 people were killed, including tourists visiting resort islands in the Andaman Sea, officials held a memorial ceremony and called for more awareness and preparedness for disasters.

 

"The government wants to lift safety standards... and build awareness across all sectors in preparing and protecting people against disasters," Deputy Interior Minister, Nipon Bunyamanee, said at an opening ceremony. He said Dec. 26 had been designated national accident prevention day.

 

Officials later laid wreaths at a memorial center in Phang Nga province to pay tribute to King Maha Vajiralongkorn's nephew, Bhumi Jensen, who was last seen jet-skiing off the coast when the tsunami hit.

An interfaith service for Muslim, Christian and Buddhist victims was also held.

 

Survivors from Ban Nam Khem, the worst hit Thai village, will hold a candlelight vigil in the evening. At least 1,400 people were killed when waves struck the fishing village.

 

In India, where more than 10,000 people died in the tsunami, survivors also were to hold memorial ceremonies. More than 35,000 people died in Sri Lanka.

 

(Reporting Prapan Chankaew, Additional reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-26

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[Samui Bodoh]

I was in North Sumatra, Indonesia helping the reconstruction and rehabilitation for a year.

 

What I saw there haunts me to this day, but I did not even see the worst; we all owe a debt of thanks to those truly selfless, wonderful people who arrived within hours and/or days to help, as well as those who dropped their jobs/holidays/normal lives on site simply to help as they could.

 

Thank you; you are truly unsung heroes...

 

Anyone who saw what I saw will never ever underestimate the power of Mother Nature. It is a sad lesson, but one that I wish more could learn.

 

RIP to all 225,000+ people and best wishes to the survivors who I am certain are haunted still.

 

PS Sorry, not my most eloquent post, but words still fail me fifteen years later.

 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by Samui Bodoh

[dcnx]

And yet the early warning system is still not maintained and in shambles.

All this time later and they are still TALKING about how the government needs to raise safety standards. Talk, talk, talk.

 

What a tragic loss that will unfortunately be repeated should another tsunami of that size hit again.

[Scott]

Troll post and reply reported and removed.  

 

[LazySlipper]

I was in Pattaya on that day. Before leaving Bangkok, one of my friends called me to tell me that the high rise in which he lived was swaying from side to side. None of us knew what had happened until we got to Pattaya and turned on the TV to watch the news. I stayed glued to the TV for the next 2 days watching in absolute disbelief. I remember!!! And I still think about it on a regular basis. Like all great tragedies that happen on this small planet of ours... they are to quickly forgotten.

Edited December 28, 2019 by LazySlipper
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