15 years on, a look back at the Boxing Day tsunami

FILE PHOTO: A view of Meulaboh town on January 1, 2005, after the massive earthquake and powerful tsunami. Dudi Anung-State Secretariat/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FROM THE FILES - 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

(Reuters) - December 26 marks 15 years since a 9.1 magnitude quake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.

When the quake opened a faultline deep beneath the Indian Ocean, it triggered a wave as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet), wiping some communities off the map in seconds.

Northern Aceh province bore the brunt of the disaster, where a total of 128,858 people were killed, according to statistics compiled by the government and aid agencies.

FILE PHOTO: An Indian man holds his head as he sits atop the debris of his house that was destroyed in a tsunami on Sunday in Cuddalore, south of the southern Indian city of Madras, December 27, 2004. REUTERS/Arko Datta/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

Day by day, the death toll rose, as bodies littered the streets, waiting to be collected, and others continued to wash ashore, decaying among piles of debris.

Hospitals and morgues struggled to cope with injured and bewildered victims and bloated corpses.

Over 570,000 people were displaced and 179,000 buildings and homes destroyed in Indonesia as the wave swallowed large parts of the coastline. Massive reconstruction aid in Banda Aceh has since rebuilt a new city on top of the ruins.

FILE PHOTO: Indonesians search for their belongings at their ruined house in Lhoknga, west of Banda Aceh, January 28, 2005 following the deadly tsunami. REUTERS/Enny Nuraheni/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

Sri Lanka was the next worst-affected country with a death toll of about 40,000, while in Thailand almost 5,400 people were killed including many foreign tourists.

In India, nearly 42,000 people, or close to 10,000 families, were rendered homeless by the waves that struck islands off the eastern coast. More than 3,500 people were killed and nearly 9,000 died on the mainland, mostly in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The tsunami garnered an enormous international response, with an estimated $13.6 billion in official aid and private donations pledged for the recovery.

FILE PHOTO: Sri Lankan man Dalugoda Gilbert, 70, sits among the ruins of his house near Galle, southern Sri Lanka, January 4, 2005. REUTERS/Yves Herman/ File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

WARNING SYSTEM

Those killed in 2004 received no formal warning of the approaching waves and had almost no chance to get out of the way.

FILE PHOTO: A Sri Lankan woman walks past a destroyed electrical pylon in Hambantota, eastern Sri Lanka, January 8, 2005 which collapsed after a tsunami hit the country's coast on December 26, 2004. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

Since then, millions of dollars have gone into a vast network of seismic and tsunami information centres, setting up sea and coastal instruments and erecting warning towers.

More than $400 million has been spent across 28 countries on the early-warning system, comprising 101 sea-level gauges, 148 seismometers and nine buoys.

But doubts linger about how ready countries on the Indian Ocean really are for another giant wave.

FILE PHOTO: Onlookers look at damaged fishing trawlers stuck on a bridge following the tsunami, in Nagapattinam port, south of the Indian city of Madras December 29, 2004. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

Some experts say complacency about the maintenance of the system is leaving millions vulnerable and governments still warn of the ever-present risks.

(Editing by Karishma Singh and Stephen Coates)

FILE PHOTO: Indian tsunami survivors stand in a queue to receive relief provisions in Cuddalore, south of the Indian city of Madras, December 31, 2004. REUTERS/Arko Datta/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: Women mourn the death of victims killed when a tsunami hit on Sunday, during their burial in Cuddalore, south of the southern Indian city of Madras, December 27, 2004. REUTERS/Arko Datta/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: An Indian man walks among debris left behind after a tsunami hit Velankani beach on the outskirts of Nagapattinam, south of the Indian city of Madras, December 28, 2004. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: Indonesian soldiers construct a makeshift bridge across the Lhoknga River, southwest of the tsunami-devastated city of Banda Aceh, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra January 25, 2005. REUTERS/Tarmizy Harva /File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: A woman wanders around the rubble in the commercial center of the town of Galle, southern Sri Lanka, on January 30, 2005 after it was flattened by the December 26 tsunami. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: A car is trapped in the wreckage of a collapsed house in the city of Galle, south of Sri Lanka, December 30, 2004 following the deadly tsunami. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo FROM THE FILES - 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of Khao Lak, north of the Thai island of Phuket, December 30, 2004 following the deadly tsunami. REUTERS/Luis Enrique Ascui/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: An Indonesian policeman and a volunteer worker carry the body of a tsunami victim past the Rahmatullah mosque which was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami in the village of Lhoknga, southwest of Banda Aceh, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra January 23, 2005. REUTERS/Kimimasa Mayama/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows the tsunami-devastated city of Banda Aceh on the Indonesian island of Sumatra January 28, 2005.REUTERS/ Kimimasa Mayama/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: An Indian man cries as he holds the hand of his eight-year-old son killed by a tsunami in Cuddalore, south of the Indian city of Madras, December 27, 2004. REUTERS/Arko Datta/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: An Indonesian woman carries her child in Lhoknga district, southwest of Banda Aceh, as they head towards the provincial capital to seek food and shelter following the deadly tsunami, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra January 1, 2005. REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo FROM THE FILES - 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: An Indian woman mourns the death of her relatives (covered in white sheets), who were killed when a tsunami hit on Sunday, at a burial ground in Cuddalore, south of the southern Indian city of Madras December 27, 2004. REUTERS/Arko Datta/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: Indonesian soldiers remove a body from the village of Simpang Lima on the outskirts of Banda Aceh, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, January 1, 2005. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: Indian tsunami survivors rush for food in Nagapattinam, south of the southern Indian city of Madras, December 31, 2004. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/File Photo FROM THE FILES - 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI

FILE PHOTO: Submerged buildings are seen near the pier at Ton Sai Bay in Thailand's Phi Phi island, December 28, 2004 after a tsunami hit the area. REUTERS/Luis Enrique Ascui/File Photo FROMÊTHEÊFILESÊ- 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEÊINDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI