Lessons were learned in the global response to the Tsunami tragedy of 2004

Labour’s Seán Sherlock, Minister for Development, Trade Promotion, and North-South Co-operation, Corkman Mike Foott and Aubrey Belford look at the impact of the tsunami disaster of 2004 which devastated parts of Asia.

Ten years ago, the morning of December 26, 2004, saw a sequence of events that devastated communities and shocked the world. In the space of a few short hours, more than 230,000 people lost their lives as a result of a tsunami that affected 13 countries and left close to 3m people struggling to survive.

The might and power of nature once again took us all by surprise and left behind an unimaginable wake of destruction and ruin. The images that were beamed into living rooms that St Stephen’s Day still have the power to shock and sadden us.