The wave surged and rushed. It sent water as high as 160 feet slamming onto land with a force far outstripping that of an atomic bomb. When the tsunami inundated the coasts of more than a dozen Indian Ocean nations on Dec. 26, 2004, about 230,000 people lost their lives. Entire communities were erased. It was the deadliest tsunami in recorded history.
No one was immune to the giant wave, which was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Among the dead were fishermen, vacationers, sports stars and a prince.
The brunt of the tsunami was felt in the Indonesian province of Aceh, where 170,000 people perished. Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were devastated, too. More than a thousand miles apart, across the Indian Ocean, hundreds of coastal communities were united in their grief, and in facing years of rebuilding and regrouping.
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