In 2004 the month of December, a massive tsunami hit southern Thailand and most of the nearby, coastal cities on the Asian continent. This photo was taken at Kerala, India.
The damage and the death toll was unbearable for the people of these countries. Thousands had died when the initial tsunami hit - many more in the ensuing aftermath with contaminated water supplies and the spread of disease from the dead bodies of humans and animals left behind the wake of this deadly wave.
I remember blinking in disbelief when I first heard news of the disaster. It was only a month before that I was in the same country, although touring in the distant, northern reaches of Thailand. I even had a friend who was touring in Phuket only days before the tsunami hit - she also avoided the tsunami by what I can only call sheer providence.
A year before this, a tsunami struck the coast of Aceh, Indonesia with destructive force. The view of the land following this is in the picture below.
May the memory of the departed continue on long after the anniversaries of tragedies as these.
Photo Credit: "Tsunami", first uploaded by: RNW.org on Flickr
Used with permission by a Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Originally posted: 12/27/2005
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