The meteorological department of Sri Lanka Tuesday withdrew its tsunami warning, saying "it was safe for coastal residents to return to their homes" despite a great earthquake near Indonesia.

The department official said they made the withdrawal decision because there were no reports of unusual wave activity anywhere in the neighboring countries within the Indian Ocean.

On Dec. 26, 2004, a more powerful quake triggered killing tsunamis that killed nearly 31,000 people in Sri Lanka and left many more people homeless.