Services are being held around the world to mark the tenth anniversary of the St Stephen's Day tsunami in south Asia.

Around 230,000 people died after a 9.3-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western coast triggered a series of huge waves in the Indian Ocean.

The rising waters caused devastation across the region, striking countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

The wave swept the whole of the Indian Ocean's shoreline, also hitting the coasts of India, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Maldives and Bangladesh.

Around six hours after the start of the disaster the coasts of east Africa - Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya - were struck by the wave.

The tsunami caused widespread destruction to many coastal communities.

Thousands of foreign holiday-makers were also killed, and four Irish people lost their lives in the devastation.

Ireland is being represented at commemoration events in Thailand and Indonesia.

The Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Charlie Flanagan has paid tribute to the €100m Irish aid effort in the wake of the disaster.

Plan is a children's development agency working in the region.

Mike Mansfield of Plan Ireland says its help is still needed in the areas that were affected by the disaster:

Memorial services

The vast majority of Indonesia's 170,000 victims perished in Aceh province, among them tens of thousands of children.

Some 7,000 mourners gathered on Christmas Day in Banda Aceh for the first of several memorials.

Aceh governor Zaini Abdullah led the event at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.

He thanked Indonesians and the international community for their support in the aftermath of the tsunami, which he said had helped the area recover.

Teuku Ahmad Salman, who joined thousands at the service, said: "I cannot forget the smell of the air, the water at that time ... even after 10 years."

Indonesia's Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, led a prayer ceremony where he and other officials placed flowers at a mass grave where thousands of unknown victims were buried.

More than 100 survivors, along with bereaved relatives, held a memorial service on a beach in Khao Lak, Thailand.

They walked into the waves and laid flowers in the sea, while diplomats placed wreaths on the sand.

Crowds also gathered and laid wreaths at the country's tsunami memorial park in Ban Nam Khem, a southern fishing village which was decimated.

More than 5,000 people were killed in Thailand, about half of them tourists.

In Indonesia, staff members at the German, Austrian and Swiss embassies will hold a minute's silence to remember the victims.

In Sri Lanka, the water swept a train from its tracks, killing almost 2,000 people.

A symbolic recreation of the journey was planned as part of the country's commemorations.

Originally posted at 9.31am