Indonesians mark 2 decades since the tragic tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Two decades after a catastrophic tsunami destroyed her village, Tria Asnani still cries when she recalls how she lost her mother while trying to escape the giant waves.

Asnani, now a school teacher, was only 17 at the time. Her father, who was a fisherman, never returned home from sea. She doesn't know how she survived. “I cannot swim. I could only rely on dhikr (Islamic prayer).”

On Dec. 26, 2004, a powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa.

But Indonesia’s Aceh province, located closest to the earthquake’s epicenter and with 18 of 23 districts and cities located in the coastal line in the Northern side of Sumatra, bore the brunt of the disaster with more than half of the total death toll reported.

The worst-hit areas were in Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh, according to the Aceh Disaster Management Agency.

Asnani's Lampuuk village lies in a fishermen’s community in Aceh Besar, known for its white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. However, on that day, it was among the hardest hit, with waves more than 30 meters (98 feet) high which changed the coastline in Aceh and led to land subsidence after the earthquake.

Buildings by the coast were flattened to the ground except for Rahmatullah Mosque, 500 meters (1,600 feet) from the shore, and about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from Asnani’s house. The photo of the place of worship, left pretty much unscathed, later became iconic.

After the disastrous event, thousands, including Asnani, had to relocate to start afresh. She moved with her uncle to another region in Aceh to continue her studies. After she got married, she returned in 2007 to her parents' house which was rebuilt with assistance from the Turkish government and lived there for 10 years.

Many international donors and organizations poured in money to help rebuild the affected areas that lost schools, hospitals and basic infrastructure, made stronger than before the tsunami hit.

Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center at Syiah Kuala University in Aceh recorded more than 1,400 wrecked schools and about 150,000 students had their education process disrupted by the destructive waves in a report published in 2019.

Three “escape buildings” were also constructed in a relatively safer area to accommodate thousands of people if an earthquake and tsunami strike.

Across the province, memories of the tsunami can be felt almost everywhere.

The Aceh Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh houses photos of the aftermath and vehicle debris, serving as a constant reminder of what was lost that day. Local authorities have also turned a former floating diesel-powered power plant barge that washed about 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) inland by the tsunami into another memorial place.

Both places have become the most popular tourist destinations in the area.

But development never stops and 20 years after the tsunami the Aceh coast is brimming with residential housing, cafes and restaurants, as well as tourism support facilities, while the hills in some areas from which people are currently being mined for sand and stone.

Fazli, the head of Preparedness in Aceh Disaster Management Agency, said that the government initially stipulated that there should be no activity up to 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the coast. Over time, many displaced fishermen returned to their original coastal homes, drawn by their livelihoods and ties to the sea, despite having received housing elsewhere.

He also said the agency has “provided the Acehnese people with information ” to deal with a potential tsunami. "People already know what to do,” said Fazli, who, like other Indonesians, uses a single name.

Siti Ikramatoun, a sociologist in Banda Aceh, said that despite years of recovery and rebuilding, the people of Aceh must stay vigilant.

“If people experienced (the tsunami), they may have an instinct to anticipate it. But those who do not have the experience, they won’t get what to do,” Ikramatoun said.

Various communities in Aceh commemorate the tsunami yearly along with the government and local authorities.

In Banda Aceh, art communities in early December spread disaster awareness through theatrical or musical performances that can be easier for people to follow and target all groups, including those born after the tsunami.

Muslina, 43, a civil servant, took her youngest son to the Aceh Tsunami Museum to watch one of the shows. She lost relatives and loved ones 20 years ago and she wants to make sure she always remembers them.

“Earlier my son asked me if there might be another tsunami when he grows up," she said. “I told him I do not know. Only God knows, but if there is a strong earthquake and the seawater recedes, we run, run, run to find higher ground.”

This aerial shot taken using a drone shows the now densely-populated Ulee Lheue village, one of the areas hardest hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 20024, in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

This aerial shot taken using a drone shows buildings at the business district surrounding Baiturrahman Grand Mosque which were badly ravaged by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh , Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Muslina, a 43-year-old civil servant who is also a tsunami survivor weeps as she and her son Zayyan Firdaus Akmal watch a stage performance depicting the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Artists perform during a stage performance depicting the Indian Ocean tsunami during a commemoration of the 20th year since the killer wave ravaged Aceh's coastal areas, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

A woman walks trough an opening on the wall of a building badly damaged during the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People are seen through a hole in the wall of a building damaged by 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as they visit a giant barge housing a , a diesel power generator swept ashore by the killer wave, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

A man walks past a steel barge housing a diesel power generator swept ashore by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 which is now preserved as a monument, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Visitors stand on a platform near a house on which a fishing boat landed after it was swept ashore by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, now preserved as a monument, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

This aerial shot taken using a drone shows Rahmatullah Mosque in Lampuuk village, one of the areas hardest hit by Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Aceh Besar, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

A housing complex is seen under construction near the waterfront area in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Tears well up in the eyes of Tria Asnani, a 38-year-old high school teacher teacher who is also a tsunami survivor, as he speaks with The Associated Press during an interview in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Tria Asnani, left, a 38-year-old teacher who is also a tsunami survivor, assists students to apply splints during an earthquake drill at a school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Students take cover under their desks during an earthquake drill at a school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Students take part in an earthquake drill at a school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Visitors walks at the Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Visitors looks at a wall displaying the names of the victims of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, at the Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People sit at a cafe on the waterfront near Ulhee Lheue beach, one of the areas hardest his by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People sit at a coffee shop on the waterfront near Ulee Lheue beach that was one of the areas hardest hit by Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People perform a Friday prayer at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Participants prepare for the start of a 5km running event titled "Run for Life, Tsunami Memorial 2024" held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People play in the water at Ulee Lheue beach which was one of the areas hardest hit by Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Approaching a midnight government shutdown deadline, the Senate set up votes toward final passage late Friday of a new plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but drops President-elect Donald Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day's outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”

The House approved Johnson's new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. As the Senate worked into the night, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that senators had reached agreement that would skip past procedural hurdles and allow them to pass the funding bill “before the midnight deadline.”

“This is a good outcome for the country, ” Johnson said after the House vote, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.”

It was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered House speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. And it raised stark questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry GOP colleagues, and work alongside Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who called the legislative plays from afar.

President Joe Biden, who has played a less public role in the process throughout a turbulent week, was expected to quickly sign the measure into law.

Trump's last-minute demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there wouldn’t be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, since many Republican deficit hawks prefer to slash federal government and certainly wouldn’t allow more debt.

Instead, the Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate next year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.

“So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” scoffed Musk on social media ahead of the vote.

The drastically slimmed-down 118-page package would fund the government at current levels through March 14 and add $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.

Gone is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.

It’s essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback — opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s debt ceiling demand.

But it's far smaller than the original bipartisan accord Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders — a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills — including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers — but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law.

House Democrats were cool to the latest effort after Johnson reneged on the hard-fought bipartisan compromise.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.

“Who is in charge?” she asked during the debate.

Still, the Democrats put up more votes than Republicans for the bill's passage. Almost three dozen conservative Republicans voted against it.

“The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans all across the nation,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the vote, referring to Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency.

The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees and is counting on Republicans for a big tax package. And Trump's not fearful of shutdowns the way lawmakers are, having sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House.

“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted early in the morning on social media.

More important for the president-elect was his demand for pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt limit expires Jan. 1, and Trump doesn't want the first months of his new administration saddled with tough negotiations in Congress to lift the nation's borrowing capacity. Now Johnson will be on the hook to deliver.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump posted — increasing his demand for a new five-year debt limit increase. "Without this, we should never make a deal."

Government workers had already been told to prepare for a federal shutdown that would send millions of employees — and members of the military — into the holiday season without paychecks.

Biden has been in discussions with Jeffries and Schumer, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “Republicans blew up this deal. They did, and they need to fix this.”

As the day dragged on, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stepped in to remind colleagues “how harmful it is to shut the government down, and how foolish it is to bet your own side won’t take the blame for it.”

At one point, Johnson asked House Republicans at a lunchtime meeting for a show of hands as they tried to choose the path forward.

It wasn’t just the shutdown, but the speaker’s job on the line. The speaker’s election is the first vote of the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, and some Trump allies have floated Musk for speaker.

Johnson said he spoke to Musk ahead of the vote Friday and they talked about the “extraordinary challenges of this job.”

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick, Darlene Superville and Bill Barrow contributed to this report.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Capitol is pictured in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., emerges from a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., emerges from a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., talks with reporters after attending a meeting with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., as the House works on a spending bill to avert a shutdown of the Federal Government, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

FILE - President-elect Donald Trump poses for a photo with Dana White, Kid Rock and Elon Musk at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks briefly to reporters just before a vote on an interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. The vote failed to pass. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)