The 26 December 2004 tsunami caused widespread destruction and contamination of coastal aquifers across southern Asia.

The earthquake which triggered the 2004 tsunami was the most powerful tremor in the last 40 years. The quake lasted for more than 10 minutes

The visual media is into the business of producing images. Sometimes, just sometimes, they become iconic. For disasters there is a recognisable visual trope hungry people chasing, looting or scrabbling when a relief convoy happens by. Just as the hands

• A group of 60 on horsebacks who call themselves The Nomads have undertaken a tour of the world to promote organic farming and complete respect for the environment.

Illogical plans for post tsunami housing on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands omen trouble

• A new reality television series is teaching Britain's "most wasteful families' how to live simpler, greener lives. Each week, the BBC's, No waste like home looks over a different family's house. It then suggests techniques for cutting down on their ecological footprints.

abundant bacteria: Scientists say soil contains 100 times more bacteria species than believed. Previous studies estimated a gramme of unpolluted soil contained about 10,000 bacteria species. But a

They choose the deep blue sea over the devil (of starvation, in this case), literally. Driven by extreme desperation due to loss of livelihood, tsunami-hit fisherfolk in Indonesia's Banda Aceh area