That moment (tsunami) has given us so many priceless lessons."
Meulaboh (ANTARA News) - Residents of Aceh Province gathered on Monday to pray and commemorate the 12th anniversary of Acehs tsunami.

"I lost my only son to the tsunami when he was 13 years old. We were blown away, separated, and rolled along by the huge wave," a local resident of West Aceh District, Anto, said here on Monday.

Anto and hundreds of local residents gathered at a mass cemetery in Suak Indra Puri Village, West Aceh District, to pray for their relatives and the other victims of Acehs tsunami.

Another mass grave for tsunami victims is located in Beureugang, Kaway XVI Subdistrict.

The two mass graves have become ceremonial sites for local residents and the administration to commemorate the devastating tsunami disaster.

"When the tsunami occurred, I was the chief of Suak Indra Puri Hamlet. I lost 16 people, a whole family. Alhamdulillah (praise to God) I was saved by Allah at that time. I dont know how I ran and escaped the wave," Arani Andah, 63, remarked.

Meanwhile, Acting District Head of West Aceh Rachmad Fitri HD said during the commemoration of Acehs tsunami in Suak Indri Puri that the disaster had encouraged a moment of introspection and was an important instrument in building a better society and ensuring better disaster mitigation in the region.

"That moment (tsunami) has given us so many priceless lessons," Rachmad stated.

In another part of Aceh, residents of Sabang District on Weh Island, Indonesias westernmost island, also gathered to pray and commemorate the tsunami.

"We should not linger in sadness. The tsunami passed 12 years ago. Aceh has risen up since then," a resident of Sabang District, Heri, noted.

Sabang, Heri recalled, suffered less damage than Meulaboh and Banda Aceh during the tsunami.

The destructive wave did not make it to the downtown area of Sabang. The town was only inundated, he explained.

On December 26, 2004, Aceh was struck by a 9.3-magnitude earthquake, resulting in tsunami waves that hit the region and killed more than 100 thousand residents and displaced 800 thousand.

(Reporting by Anwar and Irman Yusuf/Uu.A059/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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