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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Slideshow Save Email Print Reprints Most Popular Most Shared Taliban issue video of captive U.S. soldier 25 Dec 2009 U.S. says al Qaeda linked Nigerian tries to blow up plane 12:39am EST Russia to work on new nuclear missiles: Medvedev 24 Dec 2009 Pacquiao to sue Mayweathers in doping row 25 Dec 2009 Asia marks tsunami's fifth anniversary with prayers 1:43am EST U.S. rights activist crosses into North Korea: reports 25 Dec 2009 Australian man turns Santa, gives away belongings | Video 24 Dec 2009 Indonesia's wart-stricken "tree man" seeks help | Video 22 Nov 2007 Asia set for mixed martial arts "revolution" 23 Dec 2009 French "knew in 2001 al Qaeda was planning hijack" 16 Apr 2007 Asia marks tsunami's fifth anniversary with prayers Jason Szep PATONG, Thailand Sat Dec 26, 2009 1:43am EST Factbox How the Indian Ocean gets tsunami warnings Fri, Dec 25 2009 Related News Indian Ocean tsunami drill unfolds across region Wed, Oct 14 2009 < 1 / 12 > View Full Size PATONG, Thailand (Reuters) - Thousands of saffron-robed Thai monks chanted and prayed for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Saturday as Asia marked the fifth anniversary of one of history's worst natural disasters. World | Natural Disasters The gathering of monks in Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village on Thailand's Andaman Sea coast that lost nearly half its 5,000 people, was one of hundreds of solemn events across Asia in memory of the towering waves that crashed ashore with little warning on December 26, 2004, killing 226,000 people in 13 countries. "All souls from all nationalities, wherever you are now, please receive the prayers the monks are saying for you," said Kularb Pliamyai, who lost 10 family members in Ban Nam Khem. In Indonesia's Banda Aceh, survivors gathered in neighborhood mosques or homes on the eve of the anniversary to remember those killed by the wall of water as high as 30 meters triggered by an undersea earthquake off the island of Sumatra. Indonesia was the worst hit with the number of dead and missing over 166,000. Massive reconstruction aid in Banda Aceh has rebuilt a new city on top of the ruins, and many survivors are only now putting memories of the waves behind them. "The psychology of the Acehnese people is starting to recover after five years," said Eva Susanti, who lost 125 members of her extended family in the Banda Aceh area. Some locals such as Taufik Rahmat say they have moved on, helped along by new homes in the Banda Aceh region following one of the largest foreign fund-raising exercises. But still pockets of people in his village remain homeless. "Not all elements have been fulfilled, I think about 80 percent to 90 percent of the people still don't have proper housing," he said. FRIGHTENED OF THE SEA Thailand's Ban Nam Khem village is a shadow of its former self. Its once-thriving center of dense waterfront stores, restaurants and wooden homes is gone, replaced with souvenir shops, a wave-shaped monument and a small building filled with photographs of the tsunami recovery effort. Many former residents are now too frightened of the sea to rebuild close to the water. "I still feel bad about what happened. People from all over the world were killed here. It's their misfortune," Kularb said. In Thailand, 5,398 people were killed, including several thousand foreign tourists, when the waves swamped six coastal provinces, turning some of the world's most beautiful beaches into mass graves. Many are still missing. In Patong, a Thai beach resort village bustling with tourists, local artists performed traditional Thai songs and Buddhist monks chanted as tourists and locals gathered in a pavilion to look at photographs of the tsunami's damage. A candlelight vigil was planned for evening. "We come and stay here because we are alive," said Ruschitschka Adolf, a 73-year-old German who survived the tsunami, as his wife Katherina waded into Patong's turquoise waters to lay white roses in the waves in memory of the dead. Almost all of those killed were vacationing on or around the southern island of Phuket, a region that had contributed as much as 40 percent of Thailand's annual tourism income. AID DRYING UP Tsunami aid efforts have mostly finished, said Patrick Fuller, Tsunami Communications Coordinator at the Red Cross. "A lot of the physical reconstruction has ended. There are some major infrastructure projects that are still going on. There are some road projects, longer term projects. But all the housing projects are pretty much wrapped up," he said. The Red Cross built 51,000 houses over the past five years, mostly in the Maldives and Indonesia. But locals say they need more than new buildings, clean-water plants and other infrastructure. "The economy has not recovered," said Rotjana Phraesrithong, who is in charge of the Baan Tharn Namchai Orphanage, opened in 2006 for 35 children who lost parents in the tsunami. Dozens of small hotels and resorts are up for sale in Thailand's Phang Nga province north of Phuket whose forested coastline includes Ban Nam Khem and the serene 19-km (12-mile) Khao Lak beach, two of Thailand's worst tsunami-hit areas. "More than 100 of these small hotels and retail tour operators are looking to sell their operations because they can't obtain loans from banks to keep going," said Krit Srifa, president of the Phang Nga Tourism Association. "Many small operators are still in debt after renovations since the tsunami and many just haven't recovered financially." On Khao Lak beach, where the tsunami killed more than 3,000 people, there's little physical evidence of it aside from occasional "Tsunami Hazard Zone" signs and color-coded evacuation maps. A symbol of the catastrophe, the Sofitel Magic Lagoon where more than 300 guests and staff died, re-opened last month as the 298-room JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa. In Patong, tourism is down but few blame the tsunami. "The only time people seem to talk about the tsunami is in December during the anniversary," said Pattahanant Ketkaew, a 27-year-old manager at Phuket2Go tours near Patong beach. "Tourism is off but that's because of the global economy." (Additional reporting by Masako Iijima in Banda Aceh and Vorasit Satienlerk and Noppawan Bunlueslip in Thailand; Editing by Sugita Katyal) World Natural Disasters Add a Comment More from Reuters Pictures of the Year A look at the best photos of 2009. Slideshow PICTURES What a wacky year it's been... Um, what's up the Dalai Lama's nose? "Oddly Enough" editor Bob Basler rounds up the goofiest photos of the year. Full Article The year of all things moronic Stories that got the biggest laughs Headlines that turned your heads Oddly Enough Political Risk in 2010: Don't say we didn't warn you With the financial crisis (mostly) in the past, U.S. investors are eying a fresh start to the coming year. Here's a look at what speedbumps lie ahead. Full Article Tougher investment choices ahead Will investors embrace "risk" trades? Global Markets © Copyright 2009 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Analyst Research Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Labs Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts.com Buyouts Europe: Buyouts Conferences: Venture Capital Journal ECVJ International Financing Review International Securitisation Report Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

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