Candles, prayers and tears as Asia mourns tsunami dead 10 years on

Published December 26, 2014
Survivors, local residents and visitors release paper lanterns during a ceremony for victims of 2004 tsunami in Ban Nam Khem, a southern fishing village destroyed by the wave. -Reuters Photo
Survivors, local residents and visitors release paper lanterns during a ceremony for victims of 2004 tsunami in Ban Nam Khem, a southern fishing village destroyed by the wave. -Reuters Photo

KHAO LAK: Tearful mourners lit candles on Friday to remember the 220,000 people who died a decade ago when tsunami waves devastated coastal areas along the Indian Ocean, in one of the worst natural disasters in human history.

On December 26, 2004 a 9.3-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western tip generated a series of massive waves that pummelled the coastline of 14 countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

Among the victims were thousands of foreign tourists enjoying Christmas on the region's sun-kissed beaches, carrying the tragedy of an unprecedented natural disaster into homes around the globe.

In southern Thailand, where half of the 5,400 dead were holidaymakers, people recounted stories of horror and miraculous survival as the churning waters, laden with the debris of eviscerated bungalows, cars and boats, swept in without warning, obliterating resorts and villages.

A minute's silence in the resort of Khao Lak, much of which was washed away by the towering waves, was broken by a lone trumpeter, as mourners each lit a single white candle, some sobbing as they illuminated the darkness.

Among them was a Swiss national, Katia Paulo, who lost her boyfriend on a nearby beach.

“I had my back to the ocean. My boyfriend called me... the only thing I remember is his face. I knew I had to run away, then the wave caught me,” the 45-year-old told AFP.

“I was pushed under water many times and thought it was the end,” she said.

She called for help, only to realise the people nearby were already dead.

“I managed to hold onto a tree branch,” she said. As the waves retreated, she was six metres (200 feet) off the ground.

Nearby, 40-year-old Somjai Somboon was grieving for her two sons, who were ripped from their house when the waves cut into their fishing village of Ban Nam Khem.

“I remember them every day,” she said, with tears in her eyes.

“I will always miss my sons. “Among the international commemorations, in Sweden, which lost 543 citizens to the waves, the royal family and relatives of the victims will attend a memorial service in Uppsala Cathedral on Friday afternoon.

'Tears fell, we prayed'

There was no warning of the impending tsunami, giving little time for evacuation, despite the hours-long gaps between the waves striking different continents.

In 2011 a pan-ocean tsunami warning system was established, made up of a network of sea gauges, buoys and seismic monitors, while individual countries have invested heavily in disaster preparedness.

But experts have cautioned against the perils of “disaster amnesia “creeping into communities vulnerable to natural disasters.

The scale of the devastation in 2004 saw nations initially struggle to mobilise a relief effort, leaving bloated bodies to pile up under the tropical sun or in makeshift morgues.

The world poured money and expertise into the relief and reconstruction, with more than $13.5 billion collected in the months after the disaster.

Almost $7 billion in aid went into rebuilding more than 140,000 houses across Indonesia's Aceh province, where most of the nation's 170,000 victims were claimed.

In the main city, Banda Aceh, several thousand mourners gathered in a park on Friday for the nation's official remembrance.

It was near the epicentre of the massive undersea quake and bore the brunt of waves towering up to 35-metres (115 feet) high.

“Thousands of corpses were sprawled in this field,” Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the crowd, many among them weeping.

“There were feelings of confusion, shock, sorrow, fear and suffering. We prayed.

“And then we rose and received help in an extraordinary way,” he said, hailing the outpouring of aid from local and foreign donors.

The disaster also ended a decades-long separatist conflict in Aceh, with a peace deal between rebels and Jakarta struck less than a year later.

Mosques held prayers across the province, while people visited mass graves -- the resting place of many of Indonesia's tsunami dead.

But a Red Cross display of hundreds of salvaged ID documents and bank cards served as grim reminder that many victims simply vanished.

Lives needlessly lost

In Sri Lanka, where 31,000 people perished, survivors and relatives gathered to remember around 1,000 victims who died when waves derailed a passenger train.

The mourners boarded the restored Ocean Queen Express and headed to Peraliya, the exact spot where it was ripped from the tracks, around 90 kilometres (56 miles) south of Colombo.

The head train guard told AFP a lack of knowledge of tsunamis had led to needless deaths.

“We had about 15 minutes to move the passengers to safety. I could have done it. We had the time, but not the knowledge,” said 58-year-old Wanigaratne Karunatilleke.

Opinion

Who bears the cost?

Who bears the cost?

This small window of low inflation should compel a rethink of how the authorities and employers understand the average household’s

Editorial

Internet restrictions
Updated 23 Dec, 2024

Internet restrictions

Notion that Pakistan enjoys unprecedented freedom of expression difficult to reconcile with the reality of restrictions.
Bangladesh reset
23 Dec, 2024

Bangladesh reset

THE vibes were positive during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent meeting with Bangladesh interim leader Dr...
Leaving home
23 Dec, 2024

Leaving home

FROM asylum seekers to economic migrants, the continuing exodus from Pakistan shows mass disillusionment with the...
Military convictions
Updated 22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values.
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...