The inundation of coastal areas may be caused by storm surges, tsunami (Dawson and Stewart (2007) PPG 31, 6), or linked to El Niño (Tingt et al. (2007) Geol. Today 23, 6). D. Sobien and C. Paxton (1998) SR/SSD 98-2 provide a primer on coastal flooding. See Carlson et al. (2008) Ground Water 46, 1 on the poisoning of aquifers by the inundation of salt water from storm surges. Nunn (2007) Geog. Res. 45, 2 points out that coastal flooding is often destructive at the time, but, ‘as many delta dwellers know’, not always so thereafter.