BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — People started gathering in prayer on Thursday and visiting the mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami, one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.
Many openly wept as they placed flowers at a mass grave in Ulee Lheue village where more than 14,000 unidentified and unclaimed tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province. It was one of the areas worst-hit by the earthquake and tsunami, along with the district of Aceh Besar.
“We miss them and we still don’t know where they are. All we know is that every year we visit the mass grave in Ulee Lhue and Siron,” said Muhamad Amirudin, 54, who lost two of his children 20 years ago and has never found their bodies.

A survivor rummages through the debris at the commercial area of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province in northwest Indonesia, December 31, 2004. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
“This life is only temporary, so we do our best to be useful to others,” Amirudin, visiting the grave with his wife, said.
A powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on December 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa. Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.
2004 quake-driven tsunami spread devastation
The massive earthquake and tsunami that hit December 26, 2004, killed hundreds of thousands of people, the vast majority from Indonesia.
Beige 1-10 Yellow 11-100 Yellow-Brown 100-1000 Burnt Umber 1001-10,000 Orange 10,000-100,000 Red More than 100,000

Source: NOAA; Myanmar Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, and Department of Meteorology and Hydrology; India Ministry of Home Affairs; UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery.
Even though 20 years have passed, survivors are still grieving the loved ones they lost to the giant wave that flattened buildings all the way to the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
Thousands of people gathered to pray at the Baiturrahman Mosque in downtown Banda Aceh. Sirens sounded across the city for three minutes to mark the time of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami.
The infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now more resilient than it was before the tsunami struck. Early warning systems have been installed in coastal areas to alert residents of potential tsunamis, providing crucial time to seek safety.

An elephant which belongs to forest ministry removes debris Monday January 10, 2005 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The rebuilding efforts were made possible by the support of international donors and organizations, who contributed significant funds to help the region recover. Schools, hospitals, and essential infrastructure that were destroyed by the disaster have been reconstructed with enhanced strength and durability, ensuring better preparedness for future challenges.
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 waves.
The tsunami also claimed the lives of over 8,000 people in Thailand, including many who remain missing, leaving 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. Around 300 people joined a modest ceremony with Muslim, Christian and Buddhist and prayers.
Urai Sirisuk said she avoids the seaside memorial park the rest of the year, because the loss of her 4-year-old daughter still cuts deep every time she’s reminded of it.
“I have this feeling that the sea has taken my child. I’m very angry with it. I can’t even put my foot in the water,” she said.

But, she said, “I still hear her voice in my ears, that she’s calling for me. I can’t abandon her. So I have to be here, for my child.”
By REZA SAIFULLAH and EDNA TARIGAN/Associated Press
Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press journalists Tian Macleod Ji in Phang Nga and Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok