Tsunami Museum Opens in Banda Aceh

A new museum, designed to act as a symbolic reminder of the Asian tsunami in which more than 200,000 people were killed, has been opened in Banda Aceh.

Situated on the northern tip of Sumatra, the province of Aceh was devastated by the 2004 disaster, and is considered to be the nearest land point to the epicentre of the earthquake that triggered the destructive wave.

The four-storey museum's ground floor has been modelled on a traditional raised Acehnese house, which are built on stilts, while the first floor contains an open space, that will also allow floodwater and tidal water to flow through.

Visitors to the museum, built in the shape of a ship, will enter through a narrow corridor between two high waterfalls to simulate the effect of a tsunami, while a memorial room and exhibition hall are situated underground. A prayer room and a conference room have also been created.

Designed by Ridwan Kamil from the Bandung Institute of Technology, the 2,500 metre2 building will also act as an emergency disaster shelter should a similar event occur in the future. An 'escape hill' has been created to allow local residents to shelter in the event of future flooding or another tsunami.

The Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency funded the museum project, which cost IDR 67 billion to build.