Crime & Safety

Dundalk Reacts to Earthquake

Nerves frayed but infrastructure largely unaffected.

The earthquake that hit the East Coast caused a lot of concern, but few real problems in Dundalk.

The North Point Government Center closed for the afternoon, cancelling training classes and TASC (Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime) sessions, but little else seemed affected locally by the 5.8 magnitude quake – other than some folks' emotional state.

In most neighborhoods, such as the Holabird-Norwood area, residents left their houses and congregated in the street during the earthquake.

Find out what's happening in Dundalkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Once people knew what was going on, things were headed back to normal,” said Patch blogger Buzz Beeler. “If you can call experiencing an earthquake normal.

Mary Lurz Hoffman, a Patch columnist who lives in North Point Village, said she was in bathtub when the earthquake struck, and by the time she got to her cell phone and computer, friends were already texting and posting, confirming an earthquake had struck Maryland.

Find out what's happening in Dundalkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Capt. Joe Griebel, of Baltimore County Station No. 6, said the tremor caused numerous business alarms to go off. The quake also shook up several senior citizens, who set off their medical alarm at a nearby senior center. However, no emergencies, medical or otherwise, occurred as a result of the earthquake, he said.

“Nothing really happened county-wide,” Griebel said. “It was an uneventful event.”

Buildings at the Community College of Baltimore County Dundalk remained open Tuesday afternoon and evening.

Police officers at Precinct 12 also reported no unusual reports or activity.

In Washington D.C., closer to center of the quake, which was 39 miles northwest of Richmond, VA, the iconic National Cathedral spires suffered damage and Georgetown University closed its campus.

In Baltimore, as people left work, afternoon commutes around and inside the I-695 Beltway were slowed.

The Maryland Transit Authority temporarily suspended Metro Subway and MARC train service Tuesday afternoon and said commuters would face delays on bus lines as well.

Rebecca Knellinger, owner of the Village Coffee & Tea Company in the historic Dundalk Shopping Center, said that at first, things in the store rattled, and then the floors and walls seemed to move.

“Nothing fell, but I was thinking somebody was doing outside work,” she said. “I came running out thinking the floor was going to buckle and to see what they [the non-existent construction workers] were doing.”

Jim Ritchie, who lives in a third-floor apartment in the historic Dundalk Shopping Center, said the building first started trembling, which soon turned to swaying.

“I was thinking the building was going to come down,” Ritchie said. “People were running out.”

After Ritchie got out of his apartment, he went to his check on his girlfriend nearby at work.

“My hero,” said Cindy Desper with a smile.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.