Twenty years after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami left over 220,000 people dead, residents of Aceh, Indonesia, say the country's disaster preparedness has made strides, but still has a long way to go.
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00:00Twenty years after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Marziani still wonders if she
00:08could have done more to save her husband and two children.
00:30On the morning of December 26, 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 underwater earthquake rattled
00:47Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that spread outward across the Indian Ocean.
00:53The UN estimates its waves killed over 220,000 people in 14 countries, including Thailand,
00:59India, and Sri Lanka.
01:01Indonesia in particular, the western province of Aceh, was by far the worst hit, with some
01:07estimates saying 167,000 were killed and 650,000 were displaced.
01:17The water swept thousands of bodies out to sea, and local and international agencies
01:21Overwhelmed, we're forced to bury many people unidentified in mass graves.
01:45Volunteers like Jarfudin found themselves covered in blood and mud, collecting bodies,
01:50some missing limbs, and others crushed to death.
01:53Twenty years later, he's still haunted by what he witnessed.
02:07Indonesia, located on the Pacific Rim of fire and prone to seismic disasters, has faced
02:12criticism for poor disaster preparedness.
02:17In 2004, faulty sirens and inadequate evacuation routes led to tragic overcrowding in narrow
02:25alleys where many people drowned.
02:28Since then, the country's geophysics agency has made efforts to improve.
02:46The agency's system alerts residents to earthquakes over magnitude 5, with sirens signaling tsunami
02:56risks and regular emergency response training provided.
03:00However, survivors of 2004 argue these measures fall short, citing congested escape routes,
03:06poorly maintained roads, and rarely tested sirens, especially outside urban areas.
03:16The mountains are not far away, so because of our lack of knowledge, there are many casualties.
03:28There was a tsunami warning last year, but it's gone since then.
03:40Twenty years on, the scars of the Indian Ocean tsunami remain, but so do the lessons.
03:45Survivors hope that improved systems and awareness will save lives when the next disaster strikes.
03:51Dolphin Chen and Bryn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.