A look back at the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
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Credit: AFP/Getty Images
This photo taken 26 December 2004 shows people fleeing as a tsunami wave comes crashing ashore at Koh Raya, part of Thailand's territory in the Andaman islands and only some 23 kilometers from Phuket island, southern Thailand. Over one week after tidal waves ripped into southwestern tourist resorts and fishing areas, the country's confirmed death toll was just over 5,000, including nearly 2,500 foreign holidaymakers, with 3,810 people missing. The photographer who took this picture escaped without injury, but retreated at the first wave and watched as a second wave tore apart the wooden buildings, with a third and largest wave coming forward and "ripping apart the cement buildings like they were made of balsa wood". The waves apparently "continued for a good hour after, gradually getting smaller only to reveal the complete devestation left behind." AFP PHOTO/John RUSSELL (Photo credit should read JOHN RUSSELL/AFP/Getty Images)
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