We were on a beach. Somewhere close to Puducherry. The sight was surreal: half-smashed houses with wide open fronts, people still living in them. The devastation was caused not by a sea storm or a cyclone, but by the eroded beach. The sea had crept up to the village; there was no protection between the sea and the village.
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/opinion/shifting-sands-mal-development
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/sunita-narain
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/newspaper/down-earth
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/sunita-narain
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/india
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/coastal-erosion
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/beaches
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/ports
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/pondicherry
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/development