BANDA ACEH, Indonesia –
People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in the Indonesian province of Aceh on Thursday to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of the worst natural disasters in modern history.
Many cried as they placed flowers at a mass grave in the village of Ulee Lheue, 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 hardest hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and the massive tsunami it caused.
“We miss them and we still don’t know where they are. The only thing 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 never found their bodies.
“This life is only temporary, so we do everything we can to be useful to others,” Amirudin said, visiting the grave with his wife.
The powerful earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on December 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries and reached as far as East Africa. Around 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four most affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.
Although 20 years have passed, survivors in Indonesia still mourn the loved ones they lost in the giant wave that leveled buildings all the way to the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
Hundreds of people gathered to pray at the Baiturrahman mosque in central Banda Aceh. Sirens sounded throughout the city for three minutes to mark the time of the earthquake.
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 alert residents of approaching tsunamis, providing crucial time to seek safety.
Reconstruction efforts were made possible thanks to the support of donors and international organizations, which contributed significant funds to help the region recover. Schools, hospitals and essential infrastructure destroyed by the disaster have been rebuilt.
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 more than 8,000 people in Thailand, including many still missing, and left a deep scar on 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. About 300 people participated in a modest ceremony with Muslim, Christian and Buddhist prayers.
Urai Sirisuk said he avoids the seaside memorial park the rest of the year because the loss of his 4-year-old daughter still hurts him deeply every time he is reminded of it.
“I have the feeling that the sea has taken my son. I’m very angry with that. “I can’t even put my foot in the water,” he said.
But, he said, “I still hear his voice in my ears, calling me. I can’t abandon her. So I have to be here for my son.”
In India, hundreds of people gathered at Marina Beach in the southern city of Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu. They poured milk into the sea to propitiate the gods and offered flowers and prayers for the dead while drums played in the background.
According to official data, 10,749 people were killed in India, including almost 7,000 people in Tamil Nadu alone.
“It’s been 20 years since the tsunami,” said Sadayammal, 69, who uses only one name. “We are here to pay our respects to the people who lost their lives.”
In Sri Lanka, survivors and families of tsunami victims gathered in the coastal village of Pereliya and laid flowers at a memorial commemorating the nearly 2,000 passengers who died when their train, the Sea Queen, was hit by the wave. Only a few dozen people are believed to have survived.
Anura Ranjith joined mourners in paying respects to her younger sister, Anula Ranjani, and her 9-year-old daughter, who were traveling on the train. Ranjith never heard from them again after that day.
“I looked everywhere for them for years and there was still no information about them. Your loss is a great sadness and pain for me. “I’m still grieving,” she said.
In total, more than 35,000 people died in Sri Lanka due to the tsunami. People across the country observed two minutes of silence Thursday in memory of those who lost their lives.
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Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press writers Tian Macleod Ji in Phang Nga, Thailand, Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Aijaz Hussain in New Delhi, Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Eranga Jayawardena in Pereliya, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.
