If you are in an earthquake for the first time ever

I grew up mostly in California and mostly they are something that happens in the night while you are sleeping so you awake maybe and think "What's That?" And then you go "Oh! That's an Earthquake I"m going back to sleep." This is kind of what it is to be a Californian who has lived here mostly now since 1952 when I was 4 years old in San Diego then.

But, if you are in an Earthquake for the first time it might not be like that and you might freak out because it is new for you and your first reaction might be fear or terror. That's not my experience mostly but there also have been exceptions to this in 1971 with the:

1971 San Fernando earthquake - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_San_Fernando_earthquake

The 1971 San Fernando earthquake occurred in the early morning of February 9 in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California.

Local date‎: ‎February 9, 1971

Peak acceleration‎: ‎1.25g at ‎Pacoima Dam

Max. intensity‎: ‎XI (Extreme)

Landslides‎: ‎1,000+

‎Tectonic setting · ‎Earthquake · ‎Damage · ‎Transportation

This was the one time I really expected to die. In fact I thought it was a nuclear war starting when it didn't end after about a minute or so. 

Most earthquakes are about 20 seconds or less. If they are 4.0 to 6.0 often chandeliers will move and swing around. Starting at about 6.0 pictures start coming off off walls, TVs come off tables and walls and books come out of shelves hopefully not onto you. by a 6.5 windows in houses start breaking (even though they can break before this size of quake too depending upon the depth of the quake and other factors.

So, psychologically preparing for a quake might be the most important thing so you can be level headed when they occur. Freaking out might cost your life or others who are friends or family. You have to be prepared to deal with anything 24 hours a day regarding earthquakes. You don't know when they are going to hit they just hit.

What do you do in a larger quake?

Once you realize this could be above a 5.0 you might want to stand in a doorway (because generally they are reinforced more than most places in a house. However, if you are in a multistory building you want to get out of there mostly and go out under a big tree or some form of protection from the quake. Wherever you feel safest. 

However, if you are in a big glass building remember that glass falls down (many stories when it breaks and sometimes kills people all around those buildings like knives falling to the ground too. So, realize this is a problem before you go stand outside a big  building with a lot of glass windows in an earthquake.

Also, if your children or you are in a swimming pool during an earthquake often going to the center of the pool away from the edges is the best idea to not get knocked unconscious during a bigger earthquake. My then 5 year old daughter was in my cousin's pool in Orange County during a 5.0 and I ran from the living room to rescue her. She asked me why the water was going out of the pool. I told her it was an earthquake and she needed to stay on her float in the center of the pool. Luckily the quake didn't get any bigger than sloshing out half the water in the pool all over the backyard. luckily she stayed away from the edges while it splashed water all over me and my feet while standing on the tile and brick and cement edges of the pool telling my 5 year old what to do to survive this. I had to stay calm while telling her all this which was the hardest part for me so she wouldn't freak out. But, she was okay and mostly interested in what was happening.