In Thailand, people gathered at a memorial ceremony in Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village in Phang Nga province that bore the brunt of the devastating wave in the country. The tsunami claimed the lives of over 8,000 people in Thailand. Many remain missing and nearly 400 bodies are unclaimed to this day.

Mourners gathered at a memorial ceremony in Ban Nam Khem on Thursday, a small fishing village in Phang Nga province in Thailand. (AP Video shot by Tian Macleod Ji)

One of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami marks its 20th anniversary on Dec. 26

The 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.

Survivors and families of victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami 20 years ago visited mass graves, lit candles and comforted one another across Southeast and South Asia in ceremonies on Thursday (December 26) to mark the disaster that killed some 230,

On Dec. 26, 2004, an earthquake-triggered tsunami raced across the Indian Ocean with 40-foot-high waves slamming into India, Thailand, Indonesia and several other countries, killing at least 225,000 people and leaving thousands injured.

Survivors and victims' relatives will next week mark the 20th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 220,000

Thailand marks 20 years since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami A 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, triggering a tsunami that killed around 230,