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ince early in the morning on Monday, hundreds of people from various regions of Aceh gathered at a mass grave for tsunami victims in Ule Lheue in Banda Aceh. They sat down in groups and recited prayers for their relatives and loved ones who died on Dec. 26, 2004 in one of the biggest tsunamis ever recorded.

Their relatives were among more than 200,000 people killed in the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Aceh 12 years ago.

A somber tone hung over the gathering as visitors started to shed tears when praying for those they lost.

Sixty-year-old Hamia could not hold back her tears. With a stammering voice, she recited prayers for her family members buried at the mass grave, which was the center of commemoration for the 12th anniversary of the tsunami disaster.

“This is a memory not forgotten for me. I come here every year to pray for the victims,” she said.

Having survived the tsunami waves, the memories of the disaster were strongly imprinted in her.

“I still cannot believe that I was able to survive such massive waves,” she said.

Hamia recalled that she fought for her life to stay afloat when she was dragged by the waves. She remembered trying to grab onto anything on the surface while swimming just to stay afloat, causing her to lose a pinkie.

Hamia said she did not remember how long she was dragged by the waves but what stuck in her mind when the water had subsided was that she was dragged far away from her home.

Elsewhere at the mass grave, Banda Aceh resident Zainuddin was shaking as he cried in grief over the death of his family members.

“Even though it has been 12 years, it feels like they just died yesterday. The tsunami memory is really attached to my head,” he said.

Zainuddin lost both of his parents and his siblings in the 2004 disaster. His family home was flattened by the rolls of waves. He said he survived because he was not at home when the disaster took place.

He went to all the mass graves in Aceh Besar regency for the commemoration as he did not know precisely where his family members were buried.

“Most importantly is that I prayed for them,” Zainuddin said.

The Aceh provincial administration held several activities at the Ulee Lheu Mosque in Banda Aceh on Monday to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the Aceh tsunami and earthquake, administration spokesman Frans Delian said.

All kampungs in Aceh also conducted gatherings to pray for the families and the victims.

This year’s commemoration, held under the grand theme of “Building the Nation and People’s Disaster Alertness”, invited both people and the administration to raise awareness on disaster alert culture.

The Aceh provincial administration also ordered its residents to raise a half-mast flag in government offices and people’s houses, Frans added.

A massive 9.1 magnitude earthquake off Indonesia in 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Most of the deaths were recorded in Aceh.