Tearful mourners gathered Thursday across Asia to commemorate the 220,000 lives lost in the 2004 tsunami. The disaster devastated coastlines from Indonesia to Somalia, and left lasting scars on affected communities.
Tearful mourners prayed Thursday as ceremonies began across Asia to remember the 220,000 people who died two decades ago when a tsunami hit coastlines around the Indian Ocean, in one of the world’s worst natural disasters.
On December 26, 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia’s western tip generated a series of massive waves that pummelled the coastline of 14 countries from Indonesia to Somalia.
In Indonesia’s Aceh Province where more than 100,000 people were killed, a siren rang out at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque to kick off a series of memorials around the region including in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, which the tsunami hit hours later.
“I thought it was doomsday,” said Hasnawati, a 54-year-old teacher who goes by one name, at the Indonesian mosque which was damaged by the tsunami.
The seabed being ripped open pushed waves at double the speed of a bullet train, crossing the Indian Ocean within hours.
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
Read also:
Indian Ocean tsunami, 20 years on: Trauma still haunts survivors
Indonesia: Twenty years after tsunami, Aceh province ruled by Sharia law
