More than 220,000 people were killed or went missing. Aceh was among the hardest hit by the tsunami, with the death toll at 160,000 people. About 7,000 people attended the memorial. The participants, including bereaved relatives, offered prayers. The acting governor of Aceh, Nova Iriansyah, said disasters are unpredictable and people need to carefully consider  how to face such threats. Since the 2004 tsunami, large scale quakes and tsunami have repeatedly hit various areas of Indonesia. But efforts to put disaster prevention measures in place, including making buildings quake proof, have been slow in coming. The country still has a heavy task ahead in terms of finding ways to better deal with disasters.