CBS
The Republic of Maldives is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is located south of India's Lakshadweep islands, and about 435 miles southwest of Sri Lanka. The Maldives' 26 atolls encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, roughly two hundred of which are inhabited.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
A group of Maldivians disembark from a ferry at Hulhumale jetty, Hulhumale, Maldives, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. The Maldives is the flattest country in the world, with a maximum natural ground level of only 7 feet above sea level. Over the last century, sea levels have risen about 8 inches. The ocean is likely to continue rising and this threatens the existence of the Maldives and other small island nations.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
Maldivian youth play on the beach in Hulhumale, Maldives, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. With a desperately overcrowded capital hemmed in on an island, the Maldives thought it had a can't-miss solution: build another island. Thus Hulhumale was built on an existing shallow.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
A Maldivian youth uses his mobile phone as he stands in a street in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
A Maldivian girl swings at a playground in a newly constructed housing complex in Hulhumale, Maldives, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Hulhumale was built 9 feet above sea level whereas most islands in Maldives are a mere 3 feet above sea level, to provide higher ground in the event of rising sea levels or another Tsunami.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
A laborer works in a construction site as a housing complex is seen in the back ground in Hulhumale, Maldives, Friday, Jan. 11, 2008.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
A group of elderly Maldivian citizens play cards outside their houses in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
A Maldivian fisherman unloads his catch from a boat outside the fish market in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
An elderly Maldivian woman and two children stand in front of their houses in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
A Maldivian trader carries plantains at a marketplace in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena
Members of the Maldivian public stand at a jetty as they wait to climb on board a ferry bound for Hulhumale in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.
SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP/Getty Images
A ship arrives in the harbor of the Maldives capital of Male, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007.
