Many tragedies rocked India in 2004. Some caused by nature's fury, some due to human error.

Just when the whole country was planning to usher in the New Year, nature struck. On December 26, an earthquake, measuring 8.9 on the Richter Scale, off Indonesia triggered tsunami waves that battered the eastern coast of India, wreaking havoc in Tamil Nadu, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Pondicherry. At last count, the death toll in India was over 10,000, with many thousands, especially fishermen, left homeless.

The tsunami also ravaged Sri Lanka, leaving over 22,000 dead and millions homeless. Thailand, Malaysia and Maldives were also badly hit.

This tragedy merely caps what has been a disaster-prone year. In July and August, over 700 people died in Assam and Bihar due to floods, one of the worst in recent times.

Another horrific tragedy occurred on July 16, when over 90 students were killed in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu when their school caught fire .

There was death on the tracks as well. Thirty-eight people died when the Jammu Tawi-Ahmedabad Express collided with a passenger train at Mansar, around 40 km from Jalandhar, on December 14. Human error was said to the cause of the accident.

On June 16, 14 people were killed and 62 injured when the Matsyagandha Express derailed near Ratnagiri in Maharashtra after hitting boulders from a landslide.

Also read: Tsunamis devastate south India

Photographs: STR/AFP/Getty Images and DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images