Tsunami's salt water may leave islands uninhabitable

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Some Indian Ocean islands could have been made permanently uninhabitable by the salt water that flooded them during the devastating Asian tsunami of 26 December. Water experts are now warning that, in the long run, the salt invasion may prove almost as destructive to the land as the tsunami itself. It could leave some communities dependent on outside aid for food and water for months or years to come. There are widespread reports from across the stricken region that seawater has filled wells, invaded the porous rocks on which communities depend for water, and poisoned soils.