Remembering the Indian Ocean tsunami
Survivors, local residents and visitors release paper lanterns during a ceremony for victims of 2004 tsunami in Ban Nam Khem, Thailand, a southern fishing village destroyed by the wave, December 26, 2014.
Survivors of Asia's 2004 tsunami and relatives of its 230,000 victims gathered along shorelines of the Indian Ocean on Friday for prayers and memorial services to mark the 10th anniversary of a disaster that still leaves an indelible mark on the region.
Indonesia
Acehnese people sow flowers as they pray at mass grave to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2014.
Aceh was the worst hit location, and the closest major city to the epicenter of the 9.1 magnitude quake that triggered the tsunami. Around 130,000 people in the region died.
Throughout the affected region of eleven countries, nearly 230,000 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.
Thailand
A man places flowers remembering the victims of the 2004 tsunami at the Tsunami Memorial Wall near Mai Khao Beach in Phuket, Thailand, Dec. 26, 2014.
Banda Aceh
An Acehnese woman cries during a commemoration of the ten anniversary of tsunami at Baiturrahman grand mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 25, 2014.
Banda Aceh
A man fishes in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 14, 2014.
Myanmar
Soe, the eight-year-old daughter of a fisherman from Myanmar, rests in a hammock outside her family home in Ban Nam Khem, Thailand, Dec. 13, 2014.
Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village on Thailand's Andaman Sea coast and home to a large migrant workers' community, lost nearly half of its population of 5,000 in the tsunami.
Banda Aceh
Tsunami survivor Syarifah Zhuhra, 45, sits inside her house at Lamtutui village in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Syarifah lost all of her family and now lives alone. In this village of around 4,000 only 100 people survived the tsunami.
Banda Aceh
Tsunami survivor Sanusi, 55, and his wife Hasrati, 43, sit inside their house with their daughter in the village of Lamtutui village in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Sanusi and Hasrati lost all of their family and were married one year after the tsunami.
Banda Aceh
A view of the Baiturrahman grand mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Banda Aceh
The trunks of coconut trees destroyed by the tsunami remain on a beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Banda Aceh
A group of fishermen prepare their boat and nets for fishing on the coastline in Lamtutui village in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Banda Aceh
Abdullah, 58, a fisherman collects a fish caught in his net in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2014.
Banda Aceh
A fisherman and tsunami survivor named Ilyas smokes on the coastline in Lamtutui village in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 25, 2014.
Ilyas lost all of his family.
Banda Aceh
A fisherman prepares his nets on the coastline in Lamtutui village in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 25, 2014.
Banda Aceh
BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA - DECEMBER 25: Fishermen collect fish caught in their net on the coastline in Lamtutui village on December 25, 2014 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Aceh was the worst hit location, being the closest major city to the epicentre of the 9.1 magnitude quake, suffering a huge hit from the following tsunami and resulting in around 130,000 deaths. Throughout the affected region of eleven countries, nearly 230,000 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
Thailand
People rest in hammocks in Ban Nam Khem, Thailand, Dec. 13, 2014.
Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village on Thailand's Andaman Sea coast and home to a large migrant workers' community, lost nearly half of its 5,000 population in the tsunami.
Thailand
A worker paints flag poles at the Tsunami Victims Cemetery outside Ban Nam Khem in Phang Nga province, Thailand, about 68 miles north of the resort island of Phuket, Dec. 16, 2014.
Tsunami monuments are being refurbished and grass around victims' graves cut. In Thailand, over 5300 people were killed, including several thousand foreign tourists, when the waves swamped six coastal provinces, turning some of the world's most beautiful beaches into mass graves.
Banda Aceh
Elementary students take cover under table as they perform earthquake and tsunami drills in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 15, 2014.
Banda Aceh
Elementary students perform earthquake and tsunami simulation in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 15, 2014.
Thailand
Therasak, a barber is reflected in a mirror as he cuts a customer's hair at his shop in Ban Nam Khem, Thailand, Dec.13, 2014.
Therasak survived the 2004 tsunami. He and his family returned to the village of Ban Nam Khem on Thailand's Andaman Sea coast soon after disaster but says his 22-year-old daughter still suffers from tsunami related illness.
Myanmar
A son of a migrant fisherman from Myanmar rests in a hammock at a former shrimp warehouse where his family lives in Ban Nam Khem, Myanmar, Dec. 13, 2014.
Thailand
An open metal coffin is seen as a worker paints flag poles at the Tsunami Victims Cemetery outside Ban Nam Khem, in Phang Nga province, Thailand, Dec. 12, 2014.
Thailand
A man who lives with his dogs at the former tsunami victims identification center dismantles a wooden frame near Ban Nam Khem, in Phang Nga province, Thailand, Dec. 12, 2014.
Thailand
Pictures of victims are seen at the former tsunami victims identification centre near Ban Nam Khem, Phang Nga province, Thailand, Dec. 12, 2014.
More than 400 bodies of victims of the 2004 tsunami, including 369 still unidentified, are buried in the cemetery across the road from the former victims' center.
Thailand
A visitor walks on a wave-shaped tsunami monument in Ban Nam Khem, Thailand, Dec. 13, 2014.
Thailand
Tourists walk behind a faded sign warning of tsunami hazard in Khao Lak, Phang Nga province, Thailand, Dec. 15, 2014.
Ahead of the anniversary of the 2004 tsunami, experts and officials say key weaknesses remain across the region in the system designed to warn people of the next disaster, and get them to safety. Thailand prepares to mark the tenth anniversary of the 2004 tsunami.
Thailand
Dense vegetation surrounds an abandoned hotel that was destroyed in the 2004 tsunami in Khao Lak, in Phang Nga province, Thailand, Dec. 14, 2014.
Thailand
A mask is handed over to a policeman as the container with personal possessions of 2004 tsunami victims is opened outside a police station in Takua Pa, in Phang Nga province, Thailand, Dec. 19, 2014.
Thai police opened the shipping container filled with documents and possessions of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami after being asked by Reuters for permission to film its contents. The three meter by 12 meter container was handed over to Thai police in 2011 and contains hundreds of plastic police evidence bags - each holding the items found on the body of a victim.
In Thailand, over 5,300 people were killed, including several thousand foreign tourists, when the waves swamped six coastal provinces, turning some of the world's most beautiful beaches into mass graves.
Thailand
A pair of flip-flops sit on a small wooden boat that ferries villagers and tourists from Ban Nam Khem, Thailand, Dec. 14, 2014.
Banda Aceh
A man plays football at the beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 14, 2014.
Banda Aceh
Vegetation grows from the ruins of a mosque that was hit by the tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 14, 2014.
Banda Aceh
A child plays on the beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 13, 2014.
Banda Aceh
Abdullah, 58, a fisherman prays on the beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2014.