In Thailand, people gathered at a memorial ceremony in Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village in Phang Nga province that bore the brunt of the devastating wave in the country. The tsunami claimed the lives of over 8,000 people in Thailand. Many remain missing and nearly 400 bodies are unclaimed to this day.

"The tsunami was the catalyst for me finding my purpose, that second chance I got," she said. The 53-year-old has now written a memoir about her experiences of the tsunami and life afterwards, including being diagnosed with stage four cancer, and hopes it will inspire others.

Even though two decades have passed, survivors are still grieving the loved ones they lost to the giant wave that caused one of modern history's worst natural disasters.