People laid flowers and offered prayers at mass graves scattered across the capital of Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh on Thursday, marking 20 years since the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that left more than 160,000 people dead in the province.
The devastating waves, triggered by a magnitude-9.1 quake centered off the coast of Aceh in sumatra Island, killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including Indonesia, sri Lanka, India and Thailand, and parts of Africa, according to estimates.
At 8 a.m., around the time the quake struck on Dec. 26, 2004, sirens blared throughout Banda Aceh.
Busriadi, a former fisherman who goes by only one name, narrowly survived the tsunami after he was swept away and his abdomen punctured by an iron bar. The 53-year-old had a moment of silence by the sea to remember his parents and four siblings killed by the wave.
"I could not talk about the experience for more than 10 years after the disaster because it was too heartbreaking. I still feel it is hard to do so," Busriadi said, recalling how 12-year-old sister Intan Muthia called for his help before she disappeared in the water.
A commemoration ceremony was held at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, one of the few buildings in the provincial capital that survived the quake and tsunami.
safrizal Zakaria Ali, acting governor of Aceh, told those in attendance that the disaster left "deep wounds in Acehnese society, but simultaneously served as a reminder of Allah's greatness and how small we are as creatures before him."
Expressing gratitude to those who provided assistance, he said, "We will never forget your services and contributions." He also noted the disaster led to a peace deal between the central government and a separatist group called the Free Aceh Movement in 2005 to work together for reconstruction.
since the disaster, Aceh has received financial support, including from international donors, and has largely recovered, with roads and other infrastructure rebuilt and Banda Aceh's city hall reconstructed several kilometers from the coast as a tsunami precaution.
However, many people have moved back to the city's coastal areas, which were inundated by the more than 30-meter-high tsunami two decades ago.
Houses of fishermen, who live by the coast because of their work, and migrants lured by relatively cheap prices of land facing the sea have crowded the areas, considered red zones.
Almuniza Kamal, Banda Aceh's acting mayor, said prior to the disaster's 20th anniversary that the municipal government lacks funds to relocate the residents, adding it cannot force fishermen to change their profession and live far from the coast.
As memories of the damage wrought by the tsunami fade among those who experienced it and new generations grow up, local authorities have conducted evacuation drills and measures to raise awareness of mitigating the disaster, including those in collaboration with Japan, which has expertise.
Muzailin Affan, a lecturer at the city's syiah Kuala University who specializes in geographical information systems, said most people in Aceh did not know about tsunami before the 2004 disaster and thus did not flee to higher ground after the big quake, which contributed to the high death toll.
"While people have returned to tsunami-hit areas, at least they now know where to run if a big quake happens," said Muzailin, who lost his parents, four siblings and other family members to the tsunami, stressing the necessity of disaster reduction education.
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