Then and now: Banda Aceh Rises from destruction 10 years after Tsunami

By Amanda Stringfellow @amanda_l_s

AS THE tenth anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami approaches, these before and after photographs show the recovery of the city hit hardest by the killer waves

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The destroyed P.T. Lafage Cement factory in Lhok Nga has been rebuilt

All traces of a devastated village have been lost on this deserted beach after the tsunami in Lhok Sadey

Aceh in Indonesia was the closest major city to the epicentre of the 9.1 magnitude earthquake - suffering a huge hit from the following tsunami which resulted in around 130,000 deaths in the area.

Men attempting to move motorbikes over trees contrast with the now re-built road

Desperate raft building is replaced with a tranquil river scene

Throughout the affected region of eleven countries, nearly 230,000 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

Transformation: complete devastation is replaced with tranquil scenes

The Indonesian army work on the grounds of Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman mosque - creating the green paradise shown today

Photojournalist Stephen Boitano, who was in Indonesia when the tsunami hit in 2004, has revisited the sites which were devastated by the natural disaster a decade ago.

In one set of images a member of the Indonesian Army standing guard in the wreckage of the Al-Tawhid mosque forms a sharp contrast with a motorbike riding past a now rebuilt urban setting.

Then: a body lies in water near the beach after the Tsunami in Leupung - Now: there is no trace of the past devestation in the tranquil river scene

A scene of devastation on the Sungai Krueng Aceh river after the tsunami has been replaced by a rebuilt mosque and tranquil scenery.

Stephen, from the USA and based in Bangkok, Thailand, was on the top of a volcano when the tsunami struck and escaped unharmed from the disaster.

But when he returned to the coastal region of the country, he came face-to-face with wrecked buildings and human fatalities.

Then: men use a raft to transport their bikes over the river after the tsunami destroyed the bridge - Now: a police boat rests in front of the rebuilt structure

10-years later: new boats replace those torn apart on Boxing Day 2004

Stephen said: “Aceh in 2004 was a scene of horrible and almost total devastation.

“The smell of dead bodies was everywhere and the people that survived seemed to be in shock and utterly depressed about losing so many family members. Many areas hardest hit were eerily quiet and abandoned.