Aceh Tsunami 13 years

13 years after a tsunami struck the city of Banda Aceh on Dec. 26, 2004, killing 167,000 people, roads and bridges have been rebuilt, there are houses on the beach, trees have grown back and the millions of tons of debris that covered the island are gone. But reminders of the disaster seem to be everywhere.

Water streams down the cavelike walls of the Tsunami Museum, which serves as both a memorial and evacuation site, with a knoll on high ground offering refuge in case another tsunami strikes. The center of the museum is an atrium that rises above a park, decorated with the word “Peace” and the flags of countries that provided assistance. Exhibits explain how the community worked together to rebuild, and how the formerly embattled province even found ways to make peace after the disaster, with rebels in a long and bloody separatist fight signing a deal with the central government.

A massive 2,500-ton steel barge that housed a floating diesel power generator, the Apung 1, was carried 5 km inland. Walkways and five flights of stairs leading to a viewing tower allow visitors to appreciate its sheer bulk. A monument outside the barge honors victims from the immediate area. A copper-colored sculpture, symbolizing the height and color of the massive waves, surrounds a clock tower where time stopped still just before 8 a.m., when the earthquake struck, unleashing the tsunami.

One of the most visited sites is a long fishing boat that crashed on top of a house. A ramp leads to the roof, and you can also walk underneath where it is wedged between two dwellings. The boat provided a refuge for 56 survivors.

The Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, with its 35-meter minaret, pearly white walls and seven majestic black domes, survived the tsunami largely unscathed, with hundreds of locals taking refuge there.
Visitors can wander through the mosque’s pillars and admire the chandeliers, marble floors and architecture. It is beautifully lit at night, and Friday prayers offer a colorful experience. The province has implemented a version of Shariah law, and visitors to the mosque must cover up. Sarongs can be borrowed by those who come unprepared.

While all the tsunami sites are somber reminders of one of the worst natural disasters in modern history, visitors cannot help but feel Aceh’s resilience.