Five years after the tsunami (26 photos)

Five years ago on December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake of 9.3 magnitude shook the Indian Ocean, causing huge waves that washed over the coasts of 13 countries, leaving behind 230,000 dead. This natural disaster ranked fifth in terms of the number of human lives lost. About 45,000 of the dead were never found. Five years have passed - restoration work is still ongoing - 140,000 houses, 1,700 schools, 3,800 temples and 3,700 km of roads have been built. This issue contains photographs of survivors, recovery efforts, and several before and after photos.

An Aceh man cries during a prayer for tsunami victims on the fifth anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 26, 2009 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Aceh suffered the most, as the main city of the province was closest to the epicenter. The tsunami reached it first and caused about 130,000 deaths. Across 11 countries, 230,000 people died, making it one of the worst disasters in history. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

2. Foreign tourists during the first wave of six waves of the tsunami at Hat Rai Lay beach near Krabi in southern Thailand on December 26, 2004. (AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

3. High tide washes over houses in Maddampegama, about 60 km south of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on December 26, 2004. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

4. A view of the debris near the Baiturrahman Mosque on December 27, 2004, the day after the tsunami reached Banda Aceh. (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

4. a) Five years later, a city resident collects grass for his goats in the same place on December 4, 2009. (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

5. Rescuers remove the body of a tsunami victim from the grounds of the Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh on December 29, 2004. (REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Beawiharta)

5. a) Workers from Aceh sweep the grass in the same place on December 3, 2009. (REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Beawiharta)

6. A resident of Aceh province passes by a ship washed ashore by the tsunami in Banda Aceh on December 28, 2004. (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

6. a) A worker sweeps the street in the same area in front of the Medan Hotel on December 5, 2009. (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

7. Women from Aceh search for the bodies of missing relatives among dozens of tsunami victims in Banda Aceh on December 28, 2004. (REUTERS/Handout/Beawiharta)

7. a) A child rides a bicycle in front of the morgue in the same place on December 6, 2009. (REUTERS/Handout/Beawiharta)

8. During the tsunami, this boat ended up on the roofs of residential buildings and became “Noah’s Ark” for 59 people when they were threatened by huge waves. This photo was taken on January 4, 2005. (Dimas Ardian/Getty Images)

8. a) Now this boat has become a kind of monument. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

9. The main mosque of the city of Banda Aceh was surrounded by ruins on December 29, 2004. (Dimas Ardian/Getty Images)

9. a) And this is the same area in front of the mosque five years later - December 23, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

10. The bodies of tsunami victims lie in the water near the port of Banda Aceh on December 29, 2004. (REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Beawiharta)

10. a) View of the same area - bodies and debris removed - December 3, 2009. (REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Beawiharta)

Buddhists pray and release offerings into the ocean during a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami at Ulhi Lheu Beach in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, December 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda)

12. In this photo taken on December 6, 2009, children perform a traditional dance at an orphanage in the capital of Aceh, Banda Aceh. Of the total 230,000 people killed by the tsunami, more than half died in Aceh on the island of Sumatra, leaving at least 5,200 orphans with whom child psychologists worked for a long time. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Workers reflect in the water at a construction site near the Baiturrahman Mosque on the fifth anniversary of the devastating 2004 tsunami on December 24, 2009 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

14. Workers at the construction site of the Baiturrahman Mosque on the fifth anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 25, 2009 in Banda Aceh. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

15. Thai authorities make a final check of a tsunami buoy at Cape Panwa on Phuket island, southern Thailand, December 1, 2009. Five years after the tsunami devastated the Asian coastline, experts fear a new generation of coastal residents will be ill-prepared for another huge wave as memories of the tragedy fade. (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Buddhist monks pray in memory of tsunami victims during the anniversary of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in the Thai province of Phang Nga, about 110 km north of the resort island of Phuket on December 26, 2009. Thousands of orange-robed monks prayed Saturday in memory of tsunami victims. (REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom)

17. Dutch tourist Hans Kuiper photographs images of foreign tourists who wanted to celebrate the New Year in a resort hotel and died as a result of the 2004 tsunami. Photo taken at Bang Muang Cemetery in Phang Nga province north of Phuket in Thailand on December 26, 2009. (REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom)

18. Two boys look at a city previously destroyed by the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 23, 2009 in Banda Aceh. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

19. Minaret of the Baiturrahman Mosque in Banda Aceh on December 24, 2009. (REUTERS/Beawiharta)

Tsunami survivor Abhilash Jeyaraj, also known as Child 81, sits on a chair at home waiting to go to school in Kurukkalmadam in Batticaloa district on November 23, 2009. The 2004 tsunami catapulted "Baby 81" to international fame, but the parents of the boy, who was just two months old at the time of the tragedy, say the fame only brought them unhappiness and unwanted attention. A surviving child was found in the wreckage on the coast of Sri Lanka. Soon after, nine pairs of parents came for him, each claiming that the child was theirs. (REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)

21. In this photo taken on December 2, 2009, tsunami survivors Irwan Saputra (left), Syamsuddin Mohammed (center) and Aris Monandar (right) stand next to the fishing boat that saved their lives when it washed up on rooftops in Aceh gang five years ago. (ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

22. Residents of Aceh province read the Koran at a mass grave site during a service in memory of victims of the 2004 tsunami on December 26, 2009 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Red Cross volunteers sit with open umbrellas depicting the faces of smiling orphans left behind by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami at the fifth anniversary of the disaster at the Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh on December 26, 2009.

24. 2004 tsunami survivors Iqra Alfil (right) and her classmate pose for a photo in front of their class in Lampuuk village in Banda Aceh on December 3, 2009. Five years after the disaster, 10-year-old Iqra still has tsunami nightmares after losing four family members - all except her father, who escaped by climbing a tree.

People release sky lanterns into the sky over the Andaman Sea to commemorate victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Khao Lak in Phang Nga province, about 110 km north of Phuket island on December 26, 2009.