Maryland County Pulls Plug on Earthquake Hotline

Maryland’s Howard County has pulled the plug on its earthquake hotline.

County Fire Department Captain Ryan Miller says the county now has other ways for residents to report and receive information during a disaster. And, he adds, earthquakes are rare in the county.

County officials recorded the last earthquake in 2002 when a small tremor was detected near Columbia. The hotline was last updated in October, 2005, when residents in a Columbia area neighborhood reported feeling the earth shake.

Geologists say there is a small crack in the earth’s crust causing the quakes near Columbia.

Miller says county residents can now report and receive emergency information through the county Web site, and the county’s disaster hotline.

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Information from: Lang/WBAL-AM, http://www.wbal.com