ReutersA combination of satellite images shows the coast of Meulaboh in Aceh province on Indonesia's Sumatra island on May 18, 2004 (L) and on January 7, 2005 after the Indian Ocean tsunami. December 26 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, one of the largest natural disasters on record.
The tsunami killed some 230,000 people across 14 countries, wiping out entire villages in the process. Around 9,000 of those victims were tourists, visiting the resorts of Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka during the Christmas season.
The before-and-after photos below show the tremendous scope of the damage of the 2004 disaster, alongside images of the same places in 2009. In the five years following the tsunami, aid groups rebuilt more than 140,000 homes, 1,000 government buildings, and thousands of kilometers of road, according to Reuters.
Today, 10 years later, people in the region and around the world are gathering for memorial services and prayers.