Asia Marks 2 Years Since Tsunami

Anniversary Of Devastating Waves Observed In Somber Memorials, Safety Drills

(CBS/AP)  Thousands of people fled beaches in one of Indonesia's largest-ever tsunami drills Tuesday, kicking off remembrances across Asia two years after devastating waves crashed into coastlines and killed 230,000 people.

Elsewhere, survivors and mourners marked the anniversary by visiting mass graves, lighting candles along beaches, observing a moment of silence and erecting warning towers in hopes of saving lives in the future. Some volunteers were replanting mangroves, saying they were key to protecting coastal communities.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that ripped apart the ocean floor off Indonesia's Sumatra island on Dec. 26, 2004 spawned giant waves that fanned out across the Indian Ocean at jetliner speeds, killing people in a dozen countries and leaving millions homeless.

In a cruel memorial of her own, Mother Nature sent another tsunami — much smaller and unlikely to cause significant damage — rolling toward the Philippines Tuesday.

An earthquake, with a magnitude of between 6.7 and 7.2, struck off southwestern Taiwan on Tuesday, sending the 3-foot-high tsunami toward Basco in the Philippines.

The quake was felt throughout Taiwan, Japan's Meteorological Bureau said. It swayed buildings and knocked objects off the shelves in the capital, Taipei.

"There is a possibility of a destructive local tsunami," the bureau said.

When the 2004 tsunami struck, entire villages were swept to sea in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, luxury resorts and fishing communities submerged in Thailand and thousands of homes destroyed in southern India — where commemorations Tuesday were small and subdued.

A dozen fishermen watched gulls circle overhead in one hard-hit hamlet early Tuesday, staring at the sea and telling stories about villagers who died. Hundreds more gathered as the day went on, some throwing flowers into the water as others lit incense sticks.

"Ever since the tsunami, my brother has done nothing but drink," said Nagarwali, 42, pointing to a fisherman who lost his wife and three children in the waves.

CBS News reporter Stephen Fleay says that despite the best efforts of the world's aid agencies, and an incredible outpouring of charity from around the world, around 70,000 people from northern Sumatra still live in temporary accommodation.

Fleay also says a network of emergency sea beacons to alert residents of any future tsunami is, as of yet, only half complete.