Jayarasa Abilash’s story symbolizes that of the many families torn apart by one of the worst natural calamities in modern history, but it also offers hope.

Banlue Choosin has been monitoring the seas around Thailand's southern Phang Nga province for signs of abnormality for nearly two decades. The 59-year-old is a former fisherman, and his experience and knowledge of the sea are why his coastal community in Ban Nam Khem village relies on him to monitor nearby waters after earthquakes.

On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra, causing a massive wave that devastated Asian coastal communities across thousands of miles.

Survivors and victims' relatives will next week mark the 20th anniversary of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 220,000 people across more than a dozen countries.

Tsunami-hit nations will next week commemorate the more than 220,000 people who died in the Boxing Day disaster two decades ago, when huge waves tore into coastal communities around the Indian Ocean.An undersea 9.

Jayarasa Abilash, once known internationally as "Baby 81," has transformed from a symbol of tragedy to a young man with aspirations of higher education. As an infant, Abilash was dramatically pulled from the debris left by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Sri Lanka.