Prayers and Tears Mark 20 Years Since Indian Ocean Tsunami That Killed Some 230,000 People

Prayers and Tears Mark 20 Years Since Indian Ocean Tsunami That Killed Some 230,000 People
A relative of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami participates in its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga Province, southern Thailand, on Dec. 26, 2024. Wason Wanichakorn/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia—People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh Province on Thursday to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.

Many wept as they placed flowers at a mass grave in Ulee Lheue village, where more than 14,000 unidentified tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost Province, which was one of the areas worst hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and the massive tsunami it triggered.