KATHMANDU, April 27 The aftershocks, which had rocked the Valley quite frequently yesterday and the day before following the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake of Saturday, were less powerful and the intervals between the tremors were more spread out today. As of 8:00pm, the National Seismological Centre had measured the previous aftershock measuring 4 on the Richter scale at 3:17pm. Altogether 10 aftershocks above 4 on the Richter scale were measured on Monday, compared to 39 aftershocks on Saturday and 28 on Sunday. Following the 7.6 magnitude quake on Saturday, the country had witnessed another powerful jolt of 6.9 magnitude on Sunday at 12:54pm. However, with the tremors less frequent and of less strength, life in the Kathmandu Valley seems to be gradually returning to normal. There were more vehicles on the road today, along with increased number of shops opening their doors to the public. Service providers like banks, restaurants, fuel stations, transport, among others resumed their business from today. Groups of people who had set up tents in the open spaces owing to safety concerns, started to go back to their homes. “I’ve opened my shop in hope that everything will return to normal, as I experienced very few and less powerful tremors today,” a vendor at Anamnagar said, adding, “Panic stricken people who have been terrorised due to frequent tremors might get some relief today.” However, the National Seismological Centre warned about possibilities of aftershocks. “Earthquakes are one of the most unpredictable natural disasters and aftershocks might come anytime. So, we request people to be on high alert,” Lok Bijaya Adhikari, chief of the Centre told The Himalayan Times. “According to Brahma Shumsher, who had written a book about the earthquake of 1934 — the largest quake recorded in the history of the country — aftershocks had been observed for six subsequent days. The quake of 1934 had measured 8.3 on the Richter scale.” After the devastating quake of Saturday, National Seismological Centre had said that there were high possibility of big and small tremors till 72 hours. “To complete the 72-hour period, we’ve to wait till 11:56 tomorrow,” said Adhikari, adding, “The chances of getting aftershocks for longer time increases along with the measurement of the quakes on the Richter scale.” Adhikari informed that, magnitude of tremors are gradually falling—from 4.7 on the Richter scale today morning at 6:24am, to 4.2 and 4.3 at 8:18am and 9:59am, respectively. There were two tremors measuring 4 on the Richter scale at 10:05am and 3:17pm, respectively. Adhikari has advised the people whose homes show cracks or if there are suggestions that the structure might have weakened (buildings that have tilted) to refrain from entering such buildings. “Houses that show cracks are not safe,” he asserted, adding, people could opt to stay in homes that show no signs of damage. “However, everyone should be on their toes.”