Build back, better

This combo photo taken 26 December 2004 shows (top-L) Phukets Chedi resort staff preparing for the day as the first swell edges toward the lawn followed with the arrival of the second and third waves (top-R and bottom-L) respectively, which engulfed the hotel restaurant and its surrounding gardens and the final photo showing the water at its crest, flooding the whole area. The confirmed death toll in the massive earthquake and tidal waves that sammed Indian Ocean shorelines at the weekend passed 125,000. AFP PHOTO

Dec 26, 2004, saw unspeakable devastation unleashed upon the region – as well as a surge of human dedication and resilience.

CALL it the day large parts of the world got to know the meaning of force majeure as a phrase and not a contract clause.