Arbutus feels first local earthquake in a decade

An earthquake measuring 1.3 on the Richter scale shook the Arbutus area of Baltimore County Monday morning in what geologists said may be the first locally-originating quake in more than a decade.

The 8:30 a.m. quake shook homes and shops near the University of Maryland Baltimore County corridor, about two miles from the heart of Arbutus and three miles from downtown Catonsville, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The government agency recorded vibrations five kilometers below the earth?s surface, but Dr. James Reger, a geologist with Maryland?s Department of Natural Resources, said the quake may have been much shallower.