On this day in ...... 2004 (5 years ago today), an 8.9 earthquake under the Indian Ocean near the northern coast of Indonesia touhed off "[m]assive sea surges" -- an Asian tsunami that left more than 200,000 persons dead in 13 countries, more than half of them in Indonesia alone. (credit for photo of tsunami striking Thai coast) Billions of dollars in aid were contributed; however, the BBC later reported, "rebuilding in many of the stricken areas is slow and thousands of people remain homeless."
