Scenes of huge tidal waves crashing into skyscrapers and washing away entire cities may be popular Hollywood devices, but they still arguably evoke fear in everyone.

Disaster movies like The Day After Tomorrow and recent blockbuster 2012 bring these dramatic fantasies to cinematic life, but scientists have warned the reality could prove just as scary.

Sea levels across the world are rising slowly every year, a fact that is creeping off the pages of numerous science reports and environmental awareness campaign leaflets into people's daily consciousness, particularly those living on the eastern and southern coasts of China.