Three people died of heart attacks after hearing the tsunami warning on Monday night while two others died in road accidents in their haste to escape, police spokesman Rienze Perera said.

"We have... five deaths related to tsunami evacuation on Monday night," Perera said, adding that the deaths occurred in coastal towns in the south and east of the island -- both badly hit by the December 26 tsunami which killed nearly 31,000 people and left a million homeless.

The meteorological department issued the warning after an earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia.

It withdrew the alert five hours later after it became clear that the quake had not stirred up the seas in the way the December 26 quake had.

Sri Lankan legislators Tuesday called for a single body to issue warnings on potential natural disasters after broadcasters complained of a lack of information about Monday's tsunami alert.