Earthquake Causes Minor Cracks in Perry Hall High

Josh Hinkel and Robin McFaul, both 15, were sitting in auditorium shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday. Classes don't resume until Monday, but the students were waiting to speak with a music teacher.

Then the catwalk over their heads started shaking, then their seats and the walls.

"It shook as if a helicopter had landed on the roof. It shook like crazy for about 10 seconds," Hinkel said.

"It was just really weird to experience," McFaul said.

They waited in the auditorium until Assistant Principal Stephen Arnold announced an evacuation of the building . Faculty and students were sent home early and evening activities, including a meeting with coaches, were canceled.

At least two first-floor classrooms in the school received minor cracks in the quake, Principal George Roberts said.

Access to the rooms will be restricted until Baltimore County Public Schools engineers finish a full inspection, although there are no indicators that the school is unsafe, Roberts said.

Cracks in walls were also reported at Kenwood High School, according to schools spokesman Charlie Herndon.

Roberts compared the experience to Sept. 11, 2001.

"It was that same feeling of anxiety. It was surreal. You think, this can't really be happening," he said. "But this was different, because we actually felt it, rather than just seeing it on TV."