(reopens FGN 2)

The director, Augustine Bilve, said patients at the hospital were being evacuated to prepare for any injured from the villages along the coast. "We were told that after the shaking, waves came to the villages. So far, we are waiting in Lata and are evacuating patients in case there are any casualties." A staff member at the Solomons National Disaster Management Office said officials were concerned about the eastern province of Temotu, which includes the Santa Cruz islands. "That's the province, which if it is going to have an effect, then they will be the first people to be impacted," the official, who did not wish to be named, told AFP. "They felt the quake." He added that the national disaster operation centre had been activated and officials in Honiara were trying to contact those in Temotu province. In 2007 a tsunami following an 8.1-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in the Solomons and left thousands homeless. The Solomon Islands are part of the "Ring of Fire", a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific Ocean that is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The tsunami warning was in effect for the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, and Wallis and Futuna. Lower-grade tsunami watches were in place beyond those Pacific nations. "At the moment there's a tsunami watch in place for Indonesia, not a warning, so we're monitoring very closely," Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency technical chief Suharjono told AFP. "If it does reach Indonesia, it would likely take a few hours to get here and would hit the area around Papua and other islands nearby." (AFP) ZH 02060941 NNNN