SUVA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of school children, government workers and people living around coastal areas in Fiji are evacuated to higher grounds following a Tsunami warning from Fiji's National Disaster Office early Wednesday morning.

    The alert was triggered by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center following an 8.0 magnitude earthquake in the Samoa Islands region.

    The tsunami warning was issued for the Pacific Islands including Fiji, New Zealand , Australia and the tiny island kingdom of Tonga.

    Fiji is one of the island countries sitting on the Pacific Ringof Fire that makes it more vulnerable to natural disasters.

    Natural Disaster Management Office said Fiji was exposed and vulnerable to natural disasters as they issued the tsunami warning and extended it for another two hours from 10:00 a.m. to 12 p.m..

    Most of Fiji's tourism attractions which are the billion dollar earner for the country are situated in coastal areas.

    People living in Fiji's Lau Group recorded higher tidal waves on Wednesday morning. Heads of Fiji Ministries and Departments have been instructed to use discretion and advise employees if there is a need to send civil servants home.

    "With this warning, all civil servants who work and live along low lying areas are advised to move to higher ground," a government release said.

    The interim Fiji government emphasized that the safety and security of government employees was of paramount importance. And Heads of Ministries and Departments are to ensure that all government property are stored away safely.

    The warning is also in place for Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa and Vanuatu, American Samoa, Niue, Wallis-Futuna, Tokelau, Cook Islands, Kermadec Island, French Polynesia, Palmyra Island, Marshalls, Solomon Islands, Johnston Island, New Caledonia, Kosrae,Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Pohnpei, Wake Island, Pitcairn, Midway Island and Chuuk.

    This is Fiji's second Tsunami warning this year.