Sri Lankan tsunami reconstruction

It's been five years since their loved ones and houses were swept away by a killer tsunami. But for some Sri Lankans, their lives have improved in certain ways despite the loss.

Despite the devastating experience, Some Sri Lankans are better off financially than before the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, that killed hundreds of thousands in nine countries.

In Seenigama, a village 95 kilometers from the Sri Lankan capital, the wealth of the residents improved dramatically.

It was a typical village on the southern coast of the island before the tragedy. Most people made a living from fishing and coral mining. Facilities for education and sports were minimal and housing was basic.

A Sri Lankan man holds an umbrella as he cycles past an overcast  bay in the town of Kalmunai on Sri Lanka's east coast in this  January 19, 2005 file photo. On December 26, 2004, a magnitude  9.15 quake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province triggered  an Indian Ocean tsunami that killed around 226,000 people in  Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.  REUTERS/Arko Datta/Files