Indonesia marks 20th anniversary of Indian Ocean tsunami that left 230,000 dead

Hundreds of people gathered in Gampong (Desa) Lambung, Banda Aceh City, to hold prayers for victims of one of the history's deadliest disaster, state-run Antara News reported.

People also visited the areas of mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia's northernmost province, and laid flowers and offered prayers at mass graves.

The main event was held at the Rescue Building in the Meuraxa district of Banda Aceh City which was attended by local people.

It was this day 20 years ago that Indian Ocean witnessed an intense 9.1-magnitude earthquake under the sea in northern Indonesia causing a tsunami with 17-meter high waves. The epicenter was found to be near the west coast of Sumatra.

The strength of the earthquake is thought to have had the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs.

Soon after the earthquake, the killer waves hit at least 11 countries, affecting people from east Africa to Thailand. An estimated 230,000 people -- 170,000 of them in Indonesia -- died, and nearly 2 million people were displaced.

It was around 8 a.m. local time (0230GMT) on Dec. 26, 2004 that the earthquake unleashed 30 meters (98.4 feet) tall waves of water.

Thailand and Sri Lanka were also hit by the deadly disaster where over 8,000 people were killed in Thailand and some 35,000 were killed in Sri Lanka.