Indonesians mark 2 decades since the tragic tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Two decades after a catastrophic tsunami destroyed her village, Tria Asnani still cries when she recalls how she lost her mother while trying to escape the giant waves.

Asnani, now a school teacher, was only 17 at the time. Her father, who was a fisherman, never returned home from sea. She doesn't know how she survived. “I cannot swim. I could only rely on dhikr (Islamic prayer).”

On Dec. 26, 2004, a powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa.

But Indonesia’s Aceh province, located closest to the earthquake’s epicenter and with 18 of 23 districts and cities located in the coastal line in the Northern side of Sumatra, bore the brunt of the disaster with more than half of the total death toll reported.

The worst-hit areas were in Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh, according to the Aceh Disaster Management Agency.

Asnani's Lampuuk village lies in a fishermen’s community in Aceh Besar, known for its white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. However, on that day, it was among the hardest hit, with waves more than 30 meters (98 feet) high which changed the coastline in Aceh and led to land subsidence after the earthquake.

Buildings by the coast were flattened to the ground except for Rahmatullah Mosque, 500 meters (1,600 feet) from the shore, and about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from Asnani’s house. The photo of the place of worship, left pretty much unscathed, later became iconic.

After the disastrous event, thousands, including Asnani, had to relocate to start afresh. She moved with her uncle to another region in Aceh to continue her studies. After she got married, she returned in 2007 to her parents' house which was rebuilt with assistance from the Turkish government and lived there for 10 years.

Many international donors and organizations poured in money to help rebuild the affected areas that lost schools, hospitals and basic infrastructure, made stronger than before the tsunami hit.

Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center at Syiah Kuala University in Aceh recorded more than 1,400 wrecked schools and about 150,000 students had their education process disrupted by the destructive waves in a report published in 2019.

Three “escape buildings” were also constructed in a relatively safer area to accommodate thousands of people if an earthquake and tsunami strike.

Across the province, memories of the tsunami can be felt almost everywhere.

The Aceh Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh houses photos of the aftermath and vehicle debris, serving as a constant reminder of what was lost that day. Local authorities have also turned a former floating diesel-powered power plant barge that washed about 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) inland by the tsunami into another memorial place.

Both places have become the most popular tourist destinations in the area.

But development never stops and 20 years after the tsunami the Aceh coast is brimming with residential housing, cafes and restaurants, as well as tourism support facilities, while the hills in some areas from which people are currently being mined for sand and stone.

Fazli, the head of Preparedness in Aceh Disaster Management Agency, said that the government initially stipulated that there should be no activity up to 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the coast. Over time, many displaced fishermen returned to their original coastal homes, drawn by their livelihoods and ties to the sea, despite having received housing elsewhere.

He also said the agency has “provided the Acehnese people with information ” to deal with a potential tsunami. "People already know what to do,” said Fazli, who, like other Indonesians, uses a single name.

Siti Ikramatoun, a sociologist in Banda Aceh, said that despite years of recovery and rebuilding, the people of Aceh must stay vigilant.

“If people experienced (the tsunami), they may have an instinct to anticipate it. But those who do not have the experience, they won’t get what to do,” Ikramatoun said.

Various communities in Aceh commemorate the tsunami yearly along with the government and local authorities.

In Banda Aceh, art communities in early December spread disaster awareness through theatrical or musical performances that can be easier for people to follow and target all groups, including those born after the tsunami.

Muslina, 43, a civil servant, took her youngest son to the Aceh Tsunami Museum to watch one of the shows. She lost relatives and loved ones 20 years ago and she wants to make sure she always remembers them.

“Earlier my son asked me if there might be another tsunami when he grows up," she said. “I told him I do not know. Only God knows, but if there is a strong earthquake and the seawater recedes, we run, run, run to find higher ground.”

This aerial shot taken using a drone shows the now densely-populated Ulee Lheue village, one of the areas hardest hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 20024, in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

This aerial shot taken using a drone shows buildings at the business district surrounding Baiturrahman Grand Mosque which were badly ravaged by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh , Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Muslina, a 43-year-old civil servant who is also a tsunami survivor weeps as she and her son Zayyan Firdaus Akmal watch a stage performance depicting the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Artists perform during a stage performance depicting the Indian Ocean tsunami during a commemoration of the 20th year since the killer wave ravaged Aceh's coastal areas, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

A woman walks trough an opening on the wall of a building badly damaged during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People are seen through a hole in the wall of a building damaged by 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as they visit a giant barge housing a , a diesel power generator swept ashore by the killer wave, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

A man walks past a steel barge housing a diesel power generator swept ashore by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 which is now preserved as a monument, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Visitors stand on a platform near a house on which a fishing boat landed after it was swept ashore by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, now preserved as a monument, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

This aerial shot taken using a drone shows Rahmatullah Mosque in Lampuuk village, one of the areas hardest hit by Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Aceh Besar, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

A housing complex is seen under construction near the waterfront area in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Tears well up in the eyes of Tria Asnani, a 38-year-old high school teacher teacher who is also a tsunami survivor, as he speaks with The Associated Press during an interview in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Tria Asnani, left, a 38-year-old teacher who is also a tsunami survivor, assists students to apply splints during an earthquake drill at a school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Students take cover under their desks during an earthquake drill at a school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Students take part in an earthquake drill at a school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Visitors walks at the Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Visitors looks at a wall displaying the names of the victims of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, at the Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People sit at a cafe on the waterfront near Ulhee Lheue beach, one of the areas hardest his by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People sit at a coffee shop on the waterfront near Ulee Lheue beach that was one of the areas hardest hit by Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People perform a Friday prayer at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Participants prepare for the start of a 5km running event titled "Run for Life, Tsunami Memorial 2024" held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People play in the water at Ulee Lheue beach which was one of the areas hardest hit by Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Facing a looming U.S. deadline, Iran’s president said Tuesday that 14 million Iranians, including himself, have volunteered to sacrifice their lives in the war.

President Masoud Pezeshkian made the comment on X just ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline to bomb power stations and bridges in Iran if it doesn’t loosen its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

The figure is double other figures mentioned by state media in the past about volunteers the government had been soliciting by text messages and media as the war went on.

Iran is home to 90 million people. Many remain angry at the government over its bloody crackdown on nationwide demonstrations and the 14 million figure likely is aimed at trying to dissuade the promised American bombing campaign.

“More than 14 million Iranian people have declared their readiness to sacrifice their lives in the (self-sacrificing) campaign,” Pezeshkian wrote. “I too have been, am, and will remain ready to give my life for Iran.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Airstrikes across Iran killed at least 15 people on Tuesday, while Iran fired on Israel and Saudi Arabia, prompting the temporary closure of a major bridge. The attacks came as Iranian officials urged youths to form human chains around power plants to protect them, as the latest deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz drew closer.

Trump has threatened to bomb all of Iran's power plants and bridges if Iran does not meet his Tuesday 8 p.m. EDT deadline to allow shipping traffic to fully resume through the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of the world's oil transits in peacetime.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night,” Trump said. Trump has repeatedly extended previous deadlines, but suggested this one was final, saying he’d already given Iran enough extra time.

Israel's military warned Iranians in Farsi to avoid taking trains throughout the day, likely telegraphing intended strikes on the rail network.

“Your presence puts your life at risk,” the warning posted on X read.

France joined a growing chorus of international voices calling for restraint, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot saying attacks targeting civilian and energy infrastructure “are barred by the rules of war, international law.”

“They would without doubt trigger a new phase of escalation, of reprisals, that would drag the region and the world economy into a vicious circle that would be very worrying and, most of all, very damaging to our own interests,” the minister said on France Info television.

Iran choked off shipping through the strait after Israel and the U.S. attacked on Feb. 28, starting the war. On Monday, Tehran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war.

Early Tuesday, Tehran launched seven ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia, which authorities said rained debris on the ground near energy facilities as they were intercepted. Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the damage was being assessed.

The attacks prompted Saudi Arabia to close the King Fahd Causeway, a bridge that links Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain for several hours. The 25-kilometer (15.5 mile) bridge is the only connection by road for Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, to the Arabian Peninsula.

Elsewhere, activists reported a new wave of strikes on Tehran, for which Israel later claimed responsibility. Nine people were killed in the city of Shahriar and six more in Pardis in other airstrikes, Iranian media reported.

Iran also fired on Israel, with reports of incoming missiles in Tel Aviv and Eilat.

Iran's attacks on the energy infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbors, coupled with its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices skyrocketing and is causing global economic problems.

In early spot trading, Brent crude, the international standard, was above $111 per barrel, up more than 50% since the start of the war.

Under growing pressure at home as consumers feel the pinch, Trump has demanded that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic or see power plants and bridges wiped out. The threat to hit civilian infrastructure has sparked widespread warnings about possible war crimes.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday urged Trump not to follow through, saying the “focus needs to be on not seeing this conflict expand any further.”

“Any of those actions including bombing bridges and reservoirs and civilian infrastructure would be unacceptable,” Luxon told Radio New Zealand.

Iran sought to up the ante, calling on “all young people, athletes, artists, students and university students and their professors” to form human chains around power plants ahead of the threatened strikes.

“Power plants that are our national assets and capital, regardless of any taste or political viewpoint, belong to the future of Iran and to the Iranian youth,” Alireza Rahimi, identified by Iranian state television as the secretary of the Supreme Council of Youth and Adolescents, said as he issued the video call in a newscast.

Iran has formed human chains in the past around its nuclear sites at times of heightened tensions with the West.

Later, a Revolutionary Guard general urged parents to send their children to man checkpoints, which have been repeatedly targeted in airstrikes.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned the U.S. that attacks on civilian infrastructure are banned under international law, according to his spokesperson. Trump, speaking with reporters, said he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes with such attacks.

As the deadline neared, efforts were still underway to reach a negotiated solution. Even though Iran has rejected the latest proposal from the U.S., officials involved in the diplomacy say that talks are still ongoing.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

Japan said Tuesday that one of its citizens who had been detained in Iran since January had been released on bail. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters in Tokyo that Japan is demanding his full release from Iranian authorities.

Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy reported from Cairo. Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, John Leicester in Paris and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.

People drive their motorbikes past a billboard that shows a graphic depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Displaced people wait to receive donated food beside the tents they use as shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A man inspects the damage to cars and an apartment building struck by an Iranian missile in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)