ANNAPOLIS, Md. | Maryland officials say they don’t think Hurricane Earl’s current path will require Ocean City to be evacuated, but they are being mindful of the time needed to move about 200,000 people in case the path changes. Richard Muth, Maryland’s emergency management director, told Gov. Martin O’Malley on Tuesday that it would take 24 to 30 hours to evacuate the city. Muth says that means a decision on whether to evacuate would need to be made by Wednesday afternoon. Muth also says the state could encourage people to not travel to Ocean City until Friday evening or Saturday, after the storm has passed, but Muth says it’s not time to do that yet. Donna Abbott, a spokeswoman for Ocean City, says the city was last evacuated in 1985 during Hurricane Gloria.
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