Pacific island nation of Kiribati - in pictures

North and South Tarawa in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati. More than 100,000 people live in the island nation which consists of 32 atolls spread across 3.5m sq km Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A man swims next to a man-made wall built to protect South Tarawa near the village of Eita Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Boys covered in reef-mud in the Kiribati village of Ambo Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Young boys play while covering each other in reef-mud on the shore Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A dog sits by a lone mangrove tree as a woman uses a fork to dig for shellfish on the reef-mud flats of a lagoon Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Binata Pinata checks the roof of her home as a storm approaches Bikeman islet Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Kaibakia Pinata walks from his hut across the shifting sands to cast his nets on Bikeman islet Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Binata Pinata stands on top of a rock underneath an old tower once used to mark the centre of the islet. Shifting sand over the years has pushed the tower further into the lagoon Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Binata Pinata stands helps her husband catch fish Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Kaibakia Pinata displays his catch Bikeman islet Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

An abandoned house inundated with seawater during high-tide near the village of Tangintebu Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A pregnant woman inside her hut in the village of Betio Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A toy bear sits next to a battery storing solar power on Bikeman islet Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A boy washes from a well outside his home at Antebuka Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A former second world war Japanese bunker now used as a pigsty in Betio Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A boy stands atop a Japanese second world war gun emplacement near Betio Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Rubbish at a dump on South Tarawa Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A restaurant in the Kiribati village of Ambo Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

A woman prepares to feed a patient on a bed placed outside the overcrowded hospital at Nawerewere, one of the more populated main islands of South Tarawa Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

The church on South Tarawa Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Roots of a tree exposed as a result of high tides near Teaoraereke Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Newly made sandbags atop the wall of a causeway linking the villages of Bairiki and Betio on South Tarawa Photograph: David Gray/Reuters