Six months after the Indian Ocean tsunami, the west coast of Indonesia's Aceh province remains a scene of utter devastation, a vast swathe of land stripped of villages, trees and plantations, Reuters reported. Where there were once idyllic beaches, mangroves and settlements, there is now scoured earth. In many places salt water lies in once fertile rice fields now devoid of farmers. Around the Indian Ocean rim, the tsunami caused widespread damage to the environment and experts say it will take years, if not generations, to recover. Even now, a full picture of the damage is only just emerging. Coral reefs, mangroves, beaches, plantations and coastal farms have been damaged or destroyed in at least six nations. North of Sumatra island, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands were particularly hard hit, the landscape twisted and tilted by the 9.15 magnitude quake that caused the tsunami. The tectonic forces unleashed by the quake lifted northern parts of the island chain out of the sea, while much of the south sank. The giant waves after the quake were a cruel second blow. --More 1230 Local Time 0930 GMT
