Bells jingled, colourful carnivals spread cheer; Asia was filled with festivity, as the people celebrated the Nativity of Jesus Christ. The festival of joy had just begun. But death was just hours away. When the most powerful earthquake in more than 40 years struck deep under the Indian Ocean, the Indonesian island of Banda Aceh became a mass graveyard. The tremor measuring 9 on the Richter scale not only destroyed the island, but also annihilated the spirits of thousands of people across 10 countries. The quake triggered tsunamis as high as 10 m, obliterating coastal villages and seaside resorts. Tourists, fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water that rolled across the Bay of Bengal. When the waves retreated, bodies littered the streets. Cities became ghost towns. The smell of death hung in the air. More than 1.5 lakh people were dead; and the toll is still rising. The Andamans fractured under the pressure of the tidal waves. Coastlines were permanently altered. Mother Nature has not always been nourishing. History has recorded several moments when she has unleashed tremendous pain and destruction: when Vesuvius erupted, when Huang Ho burst its banks, and when a massive earthquake buried the classical Greek city of Helike. The Week looks back at some of the great calamities that took place over centuries. Nero didn't fiddle Burning of Rome in 64 AD Known as the Eternal City, Rome is one of the oldest continuing capitals in the world. Started on the banks of the Tiber, Rome is the culmination of the artistic expressions of different cultures over centuries. It is often said that Augustus found Rome a city of brick in 27 BC and left it a city of marble. However, this glossy image has a charred history. On the night of July 18, 64 AD, a fire broke out among the shops lining the Circus Maximus, Rome's huge chariot stadium. In a city of two million when the summer was sweltering, a fire was not unusual. Emperor Nero himself was holidaying in the cooler resort of Antium, miles away from Rome. Many Romans in those days lived in insulae, apartment buildings of three to five storeys, with wooden floors and partitions. Fanned by the winds, the fire quickly spread through the city's densely populated areas. Contrary to popular belief that Nero 'fiddled while Rome burned', he rushed to the city and ran about the first night in vain. The fire took on a life of its own and burned for eight days until 70 per cent of the city was left in smoldering ruins. The 800-year-old temple of Jupiter Stator and the Atrium Vestae, the hearth of the Vestal virgins, were gone. Nero immediately took up relief measures by opening the Field of Mars (training ground for legionaries), public buildings and even his own gardens. He also constructed emergency accommodation for the affected. Food was brought from Ostia and neighboring towns. But the damage had been done. Of Romes 14 distorts only four remaineu. However, from the ashes rose a more spectacular Rome. The debris from the fire was used to fill the malaria-ridden marshes that had plagued the city for generations. The Domus Aarea