A skull displaced from its coffin in a grave that was unearthed by the tsunami last weekend lies on roadside in Sinnamunhattuvaram on Sri Lanka's east coast.Reuters 
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A man sits in the remains of his home that was destroyed in the December 26 tsunami in the village of Pandiruppu on Sri Lanka's east coastReuters 
A Swedish man comforts his Thai girlfriend and relatives during the cremation of her relative, who was killed by Sunday's tsunami, in Thap Lamu, Thailand. Swedish Olof Carlsson (R) comforts his Thai girlfriend, Oi, and her relatives during the cremation of her relative, who was killed by Sunday's tsunami, in Thap Lamu, about 900 km (560 miles) south of BangkokReuters 
Nations bordering the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Sri Lanka clawed through the wreckage of a devastating quake-triggered tsunami for bodies to bury on Tuesday as fears grew the toll would far exceed the 50,000 now reported killed.Reuters 
Rescue workers stand near bodies washed ashore after tsunami hit Ton Sai Bay in Phi Phi island, Thailand.Reuters 
The body of a tsunami victim lies on a roadside in Unawatuna, 6 km (3.7 miles) south of Galle, Sri LankaReuters 
Submerged building near the pier at Ton Sai Bay in Thailand's Phi Phi island.Reuters 
Tsunami refugees receive supplies distributed by USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in Krueng Raya, northeast of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.Reuters 
Sri Lankan man cries as he carries the body of a young relative to a hospital in Karapitiya outside Galle.Reuters
On 26 December 2004, the world was rudely shaken awake to the ripple effects of an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude under the Indian Ocean. With energy equal to that of 23,000 atomic bombs -- similar to the ones dropped on Hiroshima during the World War II -- the earthquake displaced trillions of tons of rocks by over hundreds of miles and caused the planet to shudder with the largest magnitude earthquake in 40 years.
The Tsunami, which was a result of the undersea megathrust earthquake, has been christened with many names: 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, South Asian tsunami, Indonesian tsunami, the Christmas tsunami and the Boxing Day tsunami.
Regardless of what it's called, the powerful shock waves spiralling in every direction, affected many countries in Southeast Asia and beyond, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, the Maldives, Somalia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Seychelles and others. In fact, even after travelling as far as 3,000 miles to reach Africa, the tsunami waves were powerful enough to kill people and destroy property, according to Do Something.
Although there was a lag of up to several hours between the earthquake and the tsunami that followed, nearly all the victims were taken completely by surprise. The Indian Ocean tsunami resulted in 155,000 fatalities, 500,000 injuries and damages that crossed $10 Billion. The natural disaster also resulted in over 5 million people losing their homes and access to food and water.
This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the deadliest tsunami in recorded history, and in recognition of that, Supermodel Petra Nemcova's efforts in "rebuilding safe-resilient schools in areas impacted by natural disasters" was recognised by the World Tourism Awards and she was awarded the "World Tourism Humanitarian Award".
Here is a look at 10 powerful images that captures the terrors of tsunami and the insignificance of humanity.
