Tsunami 20 years in the past: Siren sounds in reminiscence of the victims | EUROtoday

As of: December 26, 2024 1:04 p.m

It was probably the most devastating pure disasters in residing reminiscence. Around 230,000 individuals died within the Indian Ocean tsunami. On the twentieth anniversary, the victims have been commemorated in a number of international locations.

20 years after the devastating tsunami within the Indian Ocean, hundreds of individuals within the affected international locations of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand commemorated the roughly 230,000 individuals who died within the catastrophe.

In the Indonesian metropolis of Banda Aceh, an official ceremony on the Baiturrahman Mosque marked the beginning of a sequence of commemorations throughout Asia. A 3-minute siren sounded simply as a large earthquake on December 26, 2004 prompted large waves. Survivors and relations of the victims additionally took half within the commemoration.

Indonesia suffered probably the most deaths, with many dying in Aceh province on the island of Sumatra. “This is more than just commemorating a tragedy,” stated a group consultant. “It’s about promoting collective awareness of disaster preparedness and celebrating the resilience and unity that have guided our recovery.”

The victims of the tsunami have been remembered in widespread prayer in Banda Aceh.

Tsunami – an unknown time period in Thailand on the time

In Indonesia there’s, amongst different issues, a standard night prayer, whereas in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand there are commemorations on the seashore and spiritual ceremonies. According to estimates, at the very least 5,400 individuals died within the nation because of the tsunami, together with greater than 500 Germans. Commemorative occasions have been organized in a number of states throughout the nation, such because the Tsunami Memorial Park in Phang Nga Province in southern Thailand.

In 2004, most individuals in Thailand have been nonetheless unfamiliar with the time period tsunami and there have been no early warning programs. That has now modified. The governor of Thailand’s Phuket province, Sophon Suwanrat, stated new warning buoys have been put in simply final month. “We don’t take any risks and are aware of the dangers. People can rely on the warning system,” he emphasised to the Bangkok Post.

No early warning system within the Indian Ocean

The worst tsunami in historical past was triggered by a large 9.1 magnitude seaquake off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. From the middle of the quake, the tsunami unfold all through the Indian Ocean at a pace of as much as 800 kilometers per hour and after two hours additionally reached Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. A complete of 14 international locations have been affected by the catastrophe.

Because there was no early warning system within the Indian Ocean on the time, the disaster struck individuals with out warning: Indonesia alone recorded greater than 165,00 deaths – the overwhelming majority within the province of Aceh within the north of Sumatra, the place the tidal waves have been notably excessive.

Flood catastrophe of 2004

When the tsunami price lots of of hundreds of lives

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