Memorials held across Asia to mark 20 years of devastating tsunami

The 2004 tsunami caused devastation across 14 countries, killing 220,000. Asia holds memorials honouring the lives lost.

Memorials were held for the victims of the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean region, killing more than 200,000 people in one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.

On December 26, 2004, a magnitude-9.1 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 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.

“On a Sunday morning, when our family were all laughing together, suddenly disaster struck and everything was gone. I can’t describe it with words.”