Monday, December 26 2005 14:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Banda Aceh (Indonesia): The toughest time after last year's devastating tsunami may be yet to come, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in a video message broadcast here today (Dec 26,2005).

Annan's message was screened at a ceremony mourning the some 220,000 victims killed by the huge walls of water as they thundered ashore across the region on December 26, 2004.

"It was so brutal, so quick, so extensive that we are still struggling to fully comprehend it," Annan said as he praised the 'unprecedented response' by millions around the world who stepped forward to help.

"A year on, there has been tremendous progress in many areas. Children are back in school. Epidemics have been prevented. Tens of thousands of survivors are employed in cash-for-work activities," the secretary-general said.

"And yet in some ways, the most challenging days lie ahead," he said.

"Breadwinners desperately need to regain secure livelihoods, hundreds of thousands of families need to re-establish themselves in permanent homes, and communities need to rebuild," he said.

In a similar videotape message, broadcast at the ceremony US President George W Bush described the anniversary as a 'day of sorrow'.

"Nature is an awesome force and it can inflict great tragedy, yet throughout history, humanity has come back from fire and flood to build anew," the President said.

"One year after the tsunami, Americans of all faiths join nations around the world in the spirit of unity, remembrance and resolve. May Almighty God comfort all those affected by the tsunami and give them strength in the years ahead, " he said.