Survivors and relatives of the victims of the 2004 Asia tsunami gathered along Indian Ocean shorelines on Friday for memorials to mark the 10th anniversary of the disaster.
The tsunami caused by a 9.15 magnitude earthquake claimed more than 250,000 lives in a single day making it the most devastating tsunami in modern times. The quake that triggered a wave as high as 17.4 metres (57 feet) left 1.7 million homeless and affected 18 countries.
The 2004 tsunami devastated Indonesia’s Aceh province, killing and displacing hundreds of thousands, flattening entire towns along the west coast. Along Thailand’s coast, 5,000 people were killed in 6 provinces, including about 2,000 tourists.
Rediff.com brings you composite images that show the comparison between a scene from 2004 and 2014.
THEN: Boats leave for Phuket filled with tourists and Thai workers on December 28, 2004, in Phi Phi Village, Ton Sai Bay, Thailand. NOW: The shore of Ton Sai Bay shot prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 14 on Ton Sai Bay, Phi Phi island, Thailand. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
THEN: People walks through the streets of Tsunami-damaged Phi Phi Village January 25, 2005 almost one month after the devastating Tsunami hit Ton Sai Bay in Kho Phi Phi, Thailand. NOW: A woman rides a bicycle along a path prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on Ton Sai Bay, Phi Phi island, Thailand. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
THEN: Foreign tourists walk past devastation, carrying their luggage, as they head to the airport on December 27, 2004 along Patong beach, one of the worst hit provinces of Phuket, Thailand. NOW: Motorbikes, vans, cars, and taxis travel along a busy Patong road running parallel to the beach at Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
THEN: An aerial shot taken from a US Navy Seahawk helicopter from carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shows devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami to the west of Aceh on January 8, 2005 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. NOW: An aerial view of coastal in Lampuuk prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Aceh was the worst hit location, being the closest major city to the epicentre of the quake. Photograph: PUlet Ifansasti/Getty Images
THEN: Bodies cover the area, waiting, to be transported by boat to Phuket and Krabi in Phi Phi Village, on Ton Sai Bay, Thailand. NOW: A construction worker walks where new buildings are taking place prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
THEN: Rescue workers carry a body from a shop, December 28, 2004 in Phi Phi Village, Ton Sai Bay, Thailand. NOW: People walk along the streets prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami . Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
THEN: An aerial shot taken from a US Navy Seahawk helicopter from carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shows devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami to the west of Aceh. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images). NOW: An aerial view of houses prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
THEN: A scene of devastation is seen in the tsunami hit Indonesian City of Banda Aceh -150 miles from southern Asia's massive earthquake's epicenter - on December 28, 2004, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images. NOW: A cart drives by in Taman sari park prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
THEN: Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Up to 55,000 are feared dead across South East Asia and the number is still rising with the possibility of disease outbreaks threatening to claim more as time goes on. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images. NOW: People visit the Grand Mosque prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
THEN: An aerial shot taken from a US Navy Seahawk helicopter from carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shows devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami to the west of Aceh. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images. NOW: An aerial view of houses in Lampuuk prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 11, 2014 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images.
THEN: A man looks for relatives amid dead bodies and debris thrown around by a Tsunami that hit the Indonesian City of Banda Aceh - 150 miles from southern Asia's massive earthquake's epicentre December 28, 2004 in Banda Ache, Indonesia. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images. NOW: People drive on Pembangunan street prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 10, 2014 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
THEN: A man walks amid dead bodies and debris thrown around by a Tsunami that hit the Indonesian City of Banda Aceh. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images. NOW: People drive along W.R Supratman street prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
THEN: A bank automated teller machine rests submerged in the pool of the Holiday Inn hotel near wrecked cars along Patong Beach. Photograph: NOW: Children play in the pool at the Holiday Inn Phuket Resort and Hotel at Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Photograph: Taylor Weidman/Getty Images
THEN: A Thai woman walks by the devastation at a hotel along Patong Beach, one of the worst hit provinces in Phuket, Thailand. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images. NOW: Tourists get massages at a small parlor near the beach at Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Photograph: Taylor Weidman/Getty Images
THEN: All over Ton Sai Bay, the heart of Koh Phi Phi shops, restaurants and bungalows were totally wiped out following a Tsunami on Phi Phi Island, Thailand. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images. NOW: A general view of the beach prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
THEN: A scene of devastation is seen in the tsunami hit Indonesian City of Banda Aceh. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images. NOW: People gather near the Grand Mosque prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
THEN: A scale of the destruction is seen at the Wannaburi Resort on December 30, 2004 in Khao Lak, Thailand. Photograph: by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images. NOW: Plant life grow at The Wannaburee Resort which was rebuilt after the tsunami a decade ago and was even able to repair some of the existing structures that weren't too badly damaged on December 11, 2014 in Khao Lak, Thailand. Photograph: Taylor Weidman/Getty Images
THEN: An aerial shot taken from a US Navy Seahawk helicopter from carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shows devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami to the west of Aceh Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images. NOW: An aerial view in Lampuuk prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 11, 2014 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
THEN: People displaced by the tsunamis, walk amid their ruined neighbourhood on January 4, 2005 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images. NOW: A motorbike is driven past a boat washed up onto people's homes prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 10, 2014 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photograph: Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
