News

The victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami have been honored by thousands of mourners who prayed, burned candles and shared meals on beaches from Indonesia to India on the fourth anniversary of the disaster.

For many, Friday''s ceremonies were a time to reflect on their lives and progress in rebuilding homes and communities wiped away the disaster.

A massive earthquake off Sumatra triggered the tsunami, which killed more than 230 -thousand people along the Indian Ocean coastline- more than half in Indonesia.

In Banda Aceh, the capital of the hard-hit Aceh region, families of the victims prayed at the cemetery where their relatives were buried.

On Thursday, hundreds gathered in a mosque in Banda Aceh to pray and to remember the victims. On Thai beaches, where thousands of locals and tourists died, family members gathered to light candles and a ceremony to honor hundreds of unidentified victims were held, disaster relief officials said.

In India, also where thousands perished, interfaith prayers and a moment of silence is expected to be held. Thailand and India were staging small events to honor the dead.

Hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, hospitals and businesses have been rebuilt in the largest relief operation ever seen. Scores of development agencies spent billions of US dollars in a reconstruction effort of astounding proportions.

According to UNICEF the immediate emergency operation is over, and the basic needs of children affected by the tsunami have been met and those countries worst hit are now undergoing the transition to developing regular services and programs.

Yet thousands of families across the region remain homeless or in poor temporary shelters. Reef studies after the disaster found up to 30 percent of reefs were damaged in Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka.

The study predicted they would recover in 10 years, but much depended on efforts to control illegal fishing, pollution and coastal development.