15 years on, a look back at the Boxing Day tsunami

FILE PHOTO: An Indian man walks among debris left behind after a tsunami hit Velankani beach on the outskirts of Nagapattinam, south of the Indian city of Madras, December 28, 2004. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe

(Reuters) - December 26 marks 15 years since a 9.1 magnitude quake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.

When the quake opened a faultline deep beneath the Indian Ocean, it triggered a wave as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet), wiping some communities off the map in seconds.