Thousands of people gathered for ceremonies across Asia to mark the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The towering waves killed more than 200,000 people and left many more displaced.

Indonesia was the worst hit, suffering the most number of casualties.

But over the last few years, reconstruction efforts have given people new homes.

But international aid is drying up - and some are worried they will not get what they need to pull through.

[Tenku Syaifulmar, Banda Aceh Resident]:
"How can they leave us now, when there's still a lot of work to be done?"

Over in Thailand, locals and tourists gathered to attend memorial services in Phuket.

The crowd observed a minute of silence before monks offered prayers for the victims.

Many survivors returned to the island to give thanks.

[Adolf Ruschitschka, German Survivor]:
"We're happy to be here again because we survived. We come over every year because we're alive."

It's a sad day for many as five years on, the effects of the tsunami have not been forgotten.