2004 Tsunami: 18 years of devastating event, people pay tearful homage to victims

Today marks the 18th anniversary of the devastating 2004 Tsunami floods that jolted the Indian Ocean and surrounded countries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. More than 230,000 people in Southern Asia were killed and thousands were displaced by the 100-foot-high tsunami that was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake.

As per media reports and the World Bank, the earthquake was the third-largest ever recorded in the 21st century that lasted for the longest duration of approximately 8-10 minutes. The earthquake caused the seafloor to rise over 120 feet and triggered havoc in the coastal state of Tamil Nadu. Several Indian fishermen and a large number of civilians who had gone to Velankanni to celebrate Christmas died due to the disaster. A total of 12,405 people lost their lives in India including 107 in Andhra Pradesh, 177 in Kerala, 8000 in Tamil Nadu, 599 in Pondicherry and 3513 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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Ministry of Home Affairs in 2005 released a ‘Tsunami impact report’ which said, "The Tsunamis have caused extensive damage in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and UT of Pondicherry. 119 aftershocks have been reported so far (110 between >5.0-6.0< and 12 are > 6.0 on the Richter scale) and there is no earthquake of > 6.0 in the region after 4 January 2005. The death toll is at 10,022".

People paid tributes to the 2004 Tsunami victims

India

To mark and remember the people who lost their lives in this incident, Tamil Nadu fishermen paid tributes to the victims by pouring milk into the sea and sprinkling flowers.

People including fishermen gathered in large numbers in the coastal districts of Cuddalore, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari. Those living along the shoreline from Chennai to Kanyakumari took out a silent procession to the beach and paid tearful homage by pouring milk into the sea.

In Nagapattinam district, the fisherfolk, accompanied by the public, traders and political party members took out a massive procession and paid tribute at Akkaraipettai. At several other places, candles were lit with banners and hoarding containing the photos of the victims were put up.

The day serves as a reminder of the power of nature and highlights the importance of being prepared for natural disasters. Since 2004, India and other countries along the Indian Ocean belt have advanced respective security systems to respond quickly to such warnings in the future.

Sri Lanka

Two minutes of silence was observed by the people of Sri Lanka on Monday to pay their respects to the victims of the 2004 Tsunami.

The two-minute silence was observed from 9:25 amto 9:27 amlocal time, the time when massive tsunami waves crashed into Sri Lanka killing over 35,000 people in 2004.Traffic movement across most parts of the island nation came to a standstill while employees at public and private institutions stood in silence to commemorate the victims.

Indonesia

Indonesia on Monday remembered the thousands of people killed by the tsunami in 2004 with various religious ceremonies.People pray at the mass victim burial cemetery to mark the 18th anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, in Banda Aceh.

Aceh provincial authorities, Indonesian police and local fisherman’s associations, along with other groups, organized prayers in memory of nearly 170,000 victims of the tsunami in Sumatra, which was hit by up to 30-meter high waves.

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