TSUNAMI’S TOLL
230,000
Estimated death toll
167,799
Deaths in Indonesia alone, the hardest-hit nation
15
Number of nations that recorded deaths from the waves
9.0
Magnitude of the earthquake that caused the waves, one of the most powerful on record
1,500
Number of Hiroshima atomic bombs that would have to be detonated simultaneously to equal the earthquake’s release of energy
100
Height, in feet, of the largest waves as they came inland
Vivid and terrifying memories were recalled Friday at ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami that left nearly a quarter-million people dead in one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.
The Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami was triggered by a magnitude-9.1 earthquake — the region’s most powerful in 40 years — that tore open the seabed off Indonesia’s Sumatran coast, displacing billions of tons of water and sending waves roaring across the Indian Ocean at jetliner speeds.
Weeping survivors and others took part in beachside memorials and religious services across Asia, while some European countries also marked the anniversary, remembering the thousands of Christmastime tourists who died in the disaster.
In the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Liguvariyal Daveed — a tsunami survivor who lost her son, mother and two grandchildren in the disaster — said the fear from that day remains with her.
“Whenever we see the ocean, we get reminded of how this same ocean took away all these people,” she said at a memorial ceremony in the town of Kanyakumari. “You can’t even imagine how much we fear the sea now.”
In Europe, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven delivered a speech at a ceremony at Uppsala Cathedral, just north of Stockholm, to remember the 543 Swedes who died. President Joachim Gauck of Germany, which lost more than 500 people, said: “Locals and tourists found themselves in a situation in which they had a shared destiny, a bond which can still be felt today.”
Those at a memorial service in southern Thailand included European tsunami survivors, who were serenaded by a small orchestra and took part in a minute of silence and a candlelight ceremony. About half of Thailand’s 8,212 dead were foreign tourists, mostly Europeans escaping the winter cold.
The ceremony was held in the resort area of Khao Lak, next to a police boat that was out at sea when the tsunami struck and was carried nearly a mile inland by the waves. The boat has become a permanent memorial to the power of the tsunami.
Many at the memorial ceremonies celebrated how people — locals and the international community alike — pulled together in the wake of the tragedy, saving strangers and launching a process to build back better.
Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova was vacationing in Khao Lak with her fiance, Simon Atlee, when the waves struck. He drowned and she barely survived with serious injuries, including a broken pelvis. After recovering, she founded the Happy Hearts Fund to rebuild schools devastated by natural disasters.
“Ten years ago, everyone who is present here today got connected in a very profound way, and through our experience, which we have shared, our lives have been connected ever since,” Nemcova told the crowd at Friday’s ceremony. “The 2004 tsunami didn’t connect just those of us here, but the whole world, as individuals, families and countries have been asking, ‘How can we help?’
Indonesia’s Aceh province, which was closest to the quake’s epicenter, was hit first and hardest. Initially, the quake toppled homes and buildings and sent communities rushing into the streets in panic.
About 20 minutes later, a wall of water up to 10 meters (33 feet) high surged inland for miles with seemingly unstoppable force, carrying along trees, houses, train cars — and thousands of people — in a churning rush.
More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone, about three-quarters of the overall death toll.
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla led a prayer ceremony in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province. He and other officials placed flowers at a mass grave where thousands of unknown tsunami victims were buried.
“Here in this field 10 years ago … we tearfully saw thousands of corpses lying,” Kalla said. “No words can describe our human feelings at that time — confused, shocked, sad, scared — in seeing the suffering of the people in Aceh. But we could not remain in sadness. Aceh had to rise again, and all Indonesians in this archipelago helped, and people all over the world offered their assistance.”
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