India has withdrawn its tsunami alert, telling tens of thousands of frightened people who had fledtheir coastal homes it was safe to return.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 Tuesday.

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

A great quake measuring 8.5 happened late Monday night near Indonesia's Sumatra, giving fears of tsunami similar to that happened Dec. 26 last year that killed some 200,000 people in the Indian ocean coastal countries and left more homeless.