10 years since the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Yahoo/AP.

Acehnese praying near a damaged building next to a mass grave. Yahoo/AP

Mourners across Asia commemorated the 10 year anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami that killed 230,000 people. Yahoo/AP. The disaster  primarily struck the countries of Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. The disaster, caused by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake, is one of the costliest in terms of lives in modern history. Entire communities were wiped off the map and whole families were killed. Indonesia's Aech Province was among the hardest hit areas. In addition to the devastating Tsunami they faced damage from the earthquake as well. Thailand lost many lives as well, including many tourists on vacation. 

After 10 years most of the areas have recovered. Yahoo has a gallery of the before and after pictures here. 

My Comment:

The 2004 "Boxing Day" Indian Ocean Tsunami is one of those huge, devastating events that pretty much disappeared from the public consciousness a year or two after it happened. Even today if you ask people what first comes to mind when you say "tsunami" they are likely to think of the 2011 Tsunami in Japan.  Though that event was terrible and killed more then 15,000 people, it was dwarfed by the scale of the 2004 tsunami. The Tsunami was so terrible that it killed people as far away as Kenya, Somalia and South Africa. 

Why did the Indian Ocean Tsunami become so obscure? Part of it is because it happened in a relatively obscure area. Most people would have trouble identifying Aech on a map. There was also a lack of the incredibly live footage that the 2011 Tsunami had. I know for me that I will never forget watching the disaster in real time, which did not happen for the 2004 Tsunami. In addition, other then a few European tourists, very few Westerners died in the event. Hurricane Katrina killed almost nobody in comparison to the Indian Ocean Tsunami, but for America it was a much more important disaster. 

That being said, it is important to remember the tsunami. It was, most likely, the worst tsunami in recorded human history in terms of people killed. That alone makes it worth remembering. Not to mention the fact that it serves as a dire warning for all coastal people. It has happened before and it will happen again. If you ever are on the beach and you see the water recede back, run for the high ground.