A museum to commemorate one of Asia's deadliest tsunami, which killed over 220,000 people, has opened in southern Thailand.

The opening ceremony was held in Phang Nga Province, the hardest-hit area in Thailand in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and earthquake. The country lost more than 5,300 people in the disaster.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha joined the ceremony online. He stressed the museum will be a showcase for visitors on the destruction caused by the powerful wave.
He also pledged further support for the disaster-hit region.

Visitors can see fishing boats that were swept ashore by the wave. Tsunami damaged belongings donated by local people are also on display. One exhibit shows how a tsunami occurs.

A female high school student said, "The museum helps me imagine what happened in the past. I think if we only speak about it, it'll be gone. But if we record it like the exhibition, it won't disappear."

The Thai government built the museum with the aim to prevent memories of the disaster from fading away.