A great earthquake hit midnight Monday off Indonesia's Sumatra, killing at least 300 people and destroying hundreds of houses and buildings in the region.

This sent a shudder of panic across the Indian Ocean that another killer tsunami similar to the Dec. 26's was on the way.

Fortunately fears of a second catastrophe in just over three months were eased within hours, as countries at risk reported their coasts clear of the type of quake-spawned waves.

On Nias Island of Indonesia where almost 290 deaths happened, about 70 percent of the houses and buildings in the town of Gunungsitoli collapsed. Local officials said many more people "could be buried under the remains of hundreds of collapsed buildings."

The quake was measured at magnitude 8.5 and its epicenter was 250 kilometers south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on Sumatra, and more than 10 kilometers under the seabed of the Indian Ocean.

The quake triggered tsunami warnings and widespread panic in the region's countries. But after hours as it became clear no tsunami was imminent, governments withdrew the warnings.

Early Tuesday, Thai official said there is no threat of tsunami following the strong earthquake late Monday, adding this means people can drop alert for possible tsunami hit and go back to their normal life, said the official.

In the wake of the earthquake, Thailand ordered evacuation along its six southern coastal provinces as a precaution against any possible tsunami.

The six provinces were all hit by the tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake on Dec. 26 late last year.

The tremor was also felt in the capital Bangkok, which lies more than 1,000 kilometers away from the center of earthquake. People living in Bangkok's high-rises reported sway of building lasting for some five minutes.

In Sri Lanka, the government withdrew its tsunami alert Tuesday morning and people fled their homes in the coast lines began to return.

In withdrawing its tsunami warning, Meteorological Department said it was safe for residents in the coastal area to return to their homes as there were no reports of unusual wave activity anywhere in the country or neighboring countries within the Indian Ocean.

The earthquake near Indonesia on Dec. 26 last year triggered tsunami and killed some 31,000 people in Sri Lanka and left nearly1 million homeless.

India withdrew its tsunami alert the same day, telling tens of thousands of frightened people who had fled their coastal homes it was safe to return.

"About four hours have passed since the occurrence of the earthquake and no unusual sea conditions have been reported from the Port Blair and Chennai offices of the India Meteorological Department," the National Disaster Management Cell said in a statement.

"The earthquake does not appear to have generated tsunamis over the region. In view of this, the advice by the IMD regarding the possibility of a tsunami stands canceled," it added.

However, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Tuesday warned that it is possible a powerful tsunami hit the Australia's western coast after a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean late Monday night.

The warning came despite other nations closer to the quake's epicenter, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, withdrew their warnings.

In a statement, the bureau also issued a high seas weather warning for the entire Western Australia coast.

The tsunami was observed passing through tidal gauges placed by the Australian government at the remote group of 27 islands, about 1,100 kilometers southwest of Sumatra island, the bureau added in a statement.

The Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated several Indian Ocean countries was also detected at the same spot, measuring 33 centimeters, it said.

Also, Japan declined to lift its tsunami warning for nations rimming the Indian Ocean, noting that tidal gauges it maintains in the region had detected a 25-centimeter tsunami off Sri Lanka and a smaller one off the Maldives, but it has informed the data of the M8.5 earthquake to the Indian Ocean coastal nations.

Japan said it relayed quake data to Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, India and Malaysia, which suffered tremendous casualties inflicted by a gigantic tsunami after the Dec. 26 M9.0 quake.