Supoj Rotreuang, a former Phuket Vice Governor, presided over the ceremony, held at the Tsunami Memorial Park in Baan Nam Khem, Takua Pa District. Baan Nam Khem is one of the villages devastated by the disaster.
Present to remember what local officials today called “an unforgettable memory” were the heads of local government agencies and administrations joined by community leaders, local residents and friends and families of those lost to the waves.
This year’s memorial service was marked by traditional activities including the laying of wreaths as well as prayer ceremonies led by Buddhist, Islamic and Christian religious leaders.
Governor Supoj this morning led the laying of wreaths and flowers along the memorial wall.
This evening will be a candle-lighting ceremony in remembrance of those lost to the tsunami.
As part of the annual remembrance event, local officials in Phang Nga are holding disaster awareness campaigns in the hope that preparedness may mitigate the loss of life in any future disasters.
In Phuket, Mai Khao Tambon Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor) today has yet to report holding any remembrance ceremony at the Wall of Remembrance at the Mai Khao Cemetery.
In 2019, only a few dozen turned out for the memorial services there.
Patong Municipality also has yet to announce any formal memorial services to be held at Patong Beach, home of the traditional ‘Light Up Phuket’ event, during which people place lit candles in the sand to remember those who died in the tsunami.
The Thai government dedicated Dec 26 as National Disaster Prevention Day after the tsunami in 2004. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation was also established in the aftermath of the disaster.
Official government estimates mark 5,078 people killed by the tsunami, with a further 8,457 injured and 3,716 missing, presumed dead.
While confirmed deaths in Phuket were only 259, another 700 people remained listed as missing.
Phang Nga, however, bore the brunt of the tsunami, with 4,163 people confirmed dead and another 2,113 recorded as missing. Records show that of those killed in Phang Nga by the tsunami 2,213 were foreigners – mostly tourists.
At Bang Niang Beach, Khao Lak, which is backed by flat land, bodies were found as far as two kilometres inland. The waves also lifted and carried the 24.6-metre Marine Police patrol boat Tor 813, the Buretpadungkit, 800 metres inland.
The 2004 Asian Tsunami claimed an estimated 230,000 to 280,000 lives – in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and even Somalia – with millions more directly and indirectly affected by the waves.