MANILA, Philippines — Before tsunami-like storm surges hit Eastern Visayas during the onslaught of Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan) in November 2013, the world first witnessed the Dec. 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake near the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, it left more than 230,000 people dead across 14 countries. On the occasion of the tsunami’s 10th anniversary, INQUIRER.net is posting these pictures as a way of looking back into what transpired during one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters:
1. Banda Aceh, Indonesia
In this Jan. 10, 2005 file photo, an elephant which belongs to forest ministry removes debris in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. AP
2. Palai, Sri Lanka
In this Jan. 4, 2005 file photo, a young Tamil boy stops crying after receiving lunch from local aid workers at a makeshift refugee camp in the village of Palai, just outside of Kilinochchi in north eastern Sri Lanka. AP
3. Phuket, Thailand
In this Dec. 28, 2004 file photo, rescue and clean-up crew survey a flooded lobby at the Seapearl Beach Hotel along Patong Beach on Phuket Island, Thailand, after massive tsunami waves smashed coastlines Sunday morning. AP
4. Galle, Sri Lanka
In this Dec. 27, 2004 file photo, a young tsunami victim’s father cries as he holds the body of his son along with other family members at the Galle Hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka. AP
5. Banda Aceh, Indonesia
In this Dec. 26, 2004 file photo, Acehnese youths try to pull a man to higher ground through a flooded street a moment after tsunami strike in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia.
6. Varichikudi, India
In this Dec. 27, 2004 file photo, people displaced by the tsunami mourn their losses as they sit inside a relief camp at a temple in Varichikudi, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Madras, India. AP
7. Meulaboh, Indonesia
In this Jan. 8, 2005 file photo, US Navy AW2 Maxwell Bjeule (no state given) tries to restrain a surging crowd of survivors as they struggle to get food and other supplies being unloaded from a US Navy Sea Hawk helicopter during its continuing sortie to the tsunami-stricken town of Meulaboh, southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, in northwest Indonesia.
8. Takuapa, Thailand
In this Jan. 5, 2005 file photo, a forensic worker carries the body of a child killed in the previous week’s tsunami to be identified at a makeshift morgue at Yan Yao temple in Takuapa in southern Thailand. AP
9. Meulaboh, Indonesia
In this Jan. 8, 2005 file photo, a huge SOS sign remains on a road leading to Meulaboh, southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, during a continuing sortie by US Navy Sea Hawk helicopters from the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in northwest Indonesia. AP
10. Banda Aceh, Indonesia
In this Dec. 30, 2004 file photo, bodies of tsunami victims who died recently lie on the pavement at an overcrowded hospital in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia. AP
11. Tamil Nadu, India
In this Jan. 1, 2005 file photo, Lakshmi, center, Selvi, right, and Ariamala, rear with mask, grieve as earthmovers clear debris of their damaged house at a fishermen’s colony which was hit by a tsunami, in Nagappattinam, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. AP
12. Galle, Sri Lanka
In this Dec. 28, 2004 file photo, a view of the main bus stand that was destroyed by tidal waves at Galle, Sri Lanka. AP
13. Maddampegama, Sri Lanka
In this Dec. 26, 2004 file photo, tidal waves wash through houses at Maddampegama, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka. AP
14. Banda Aceh, Indonesia
In this Jan. 4, 2005 file photo, Senior Chief Petty Officer James Cash from San Diego, California, surveys damage to Banda Aceh town from the tsunami wave from a United States Naval helicopter flying over the Indonesian province of Aceh. AP
15. Banda Aceh, Indonesia
In this Jan. 9, 2005 file photo, Norhayati, right, and her niece Ita cry as they embrace when meeting for the first time since the tidal wave left a trail of destruction in a small village on the outskirts of Banda Aceh, Sumatra island, Indonesia. AP
16. Tamil Nadu, India
In this Dec. 28, 2004 file photo, villagers walk with their belongings past two boats that were washed ashore by tidal waves at Nagappattinam, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. AP
17. Banda Aceh, Indonesia
In this Feb. 17, 2005 file photo, an Acehnese man smokes a cigarette near a house on which a fishing boat landed after it was swept away by tsunami in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia. AP
18. Khao Lak, Thailand
In this Dec. 29, 2004 file photo, Kusol Wetchakul offers prayers for the soul of his sister , at dawn along the beach near Khao Lak, Thailand. Wetchakul’s sister was swept out to sea and believed drowned as she sold goods to tourists on the popular tourist beach just north of Phuket.
19. Takuapa, Thailand
In this Dec. 30, 2004 file photo, Thais walk outside a Buddhist temple, near Takuapa, Thailand, where more than 1,000 bodies have been gathered. AP
20. Phi-Phi Island, Thailand
In this Dec. 28, 2004 file photo, a boat passes by a damaged hotel, at Ton Sai Bay on Phi Phi Island, in Thailand.
21. Akarapatti, India
Indian villagers return with what remains of their belongings and relief material to the Akarapatti fisher’s colony in Nagapattinam , some 350 km south of Madras, 31 December 2004. AFP
22. Banda Aceh, Indonesia
In this Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004 photo, motorists ride through debris on a street in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia. AP
23. Krabi, Thailand
File photo dated 26 December 2004 shows tourists caught by the first of six tsunami rolling towards Hat Rai Lay Beach, near Krabi in southern Thailand. AFP
24. Banda Aceh, Indonesia
This file photo taken on December 30, 2004 shows workers burning debris as they clean up downtown Banda Aceh on Indonesia’s Sumatra island. AFP
Originally posted on December 23, 2014 at 6:13 pm
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