The Met Department has recorded more than 260 aftershocks since the December 26 earthquake that caused the killer tsunami and 22 aftershocks since yesterday’s earthquake.‘‘It is normal that after such a big earthquake there are so many aftershocks,’’ said acting director general of Indian Meteorology Department, B.Lal. The aftershocks are all in the range of upto five on the Richter scale. Meanwhile, more than five hours after the Sumatra earthquake, the Centre today withdrew the tsunami warning and said it was safe for residents of coastal areas to return to their homes. In the absence of sharing of information with any of the Indian Ocean countries, the Met department kept track of the earthquake and the possibility of a tsunami through last night and today on Internet through a range of sites from Japan Met Agency, European Mediterranean Seismological Centre and US Geological Society, sources said.The Centre asked authorities in coastal states and Andaman and Nicobar islands to continue to keep a watch as a precautionary measure. ‘‘The earthquake does not appear to have generated tsunamis over the Indian region and in view of this, the advice issued earlier by Indian Meteorological Department regarding possibility of tsunami stands cancelled,’’ S.K. Swami, director, disaster management, said. The message was issued to chief secretaries of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Seismologists today said an earthquake was predicted in another location.National Geophysics Research Institute director V.P. Dimri said: ‘‘It was not predicted in India but abroad, they were hinting that an earthquake could occur east of the December 26 earthquake. But not where it happened,’’ he said.
