Thailand's Anadaman coastal provinces on Wednesday commemorated the eight anniversary of the 2004 tsunami, which resulted in 5,000 deaths.

About 8,000 others were injured and another 5,000 went missing in the devastating waves. Most of the victims are foreigners as the coast are popular among foreign tourists.

On the morning of Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.15 magnitude earthquake off Indonesia triggered the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami which left around 226,000 dead or missing in Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and nine other countries.

The six provinces hit by the waves were Phangnga, Krabi, Phuket, Ranong, Trang and Satun.

Most of the provinces held ceremonies to commemorate the event on Wednesday, including Phuket and Phangnga.

In Phangnga, both tourists and local residents attended the event at the Police Boat memorial in Takua Pa district, one of the hardest hit area. The boat was swept onshore by the tidal wave on the Boxing Day eight years ago. A merit-making ceremony was held at a local temple where ashes of both Thai and foreign victims have been stored.

In Phuket, local residents and relatives of the dead attended a religious ceremony at the international cemetery on Maikhao Beach in Thalang district. They laid flowers at the cemetery and observed a moment of silence.

Thailand has successfully installed the tsunami warning system along the Andaman coast eight years after the disaster.

The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has set up 136 warning towers and three tsunami-detection buoys in the Andaman Sea. When an abnormal tidal wave is detected, the buoys will send data to the NDWC via satellite where staff members work around the clock to monitor updates on computer screens.

The center then double-checks data with the other tsunami warning center. Upon confirmation, it calculates the wave direction and expects arrival time before sending out warning messages to the public.