During an earthquake, duck or drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy desk or table, and hold onto it so that it doesn't move away from you. Wait there the shaking stops. The exterior walls of a building are the most dangerous place to be. Windows, facades, architectural details are the first parts of the building to collapse. Stay away from this danger zone, stay inside if you are inside and outside if you are outside. Duck, cover, and hold wherever you are. Doorways are no safer than elsewhere in the home. If your building actually begins to collapse, you are safest under a sturdy piece of furniture that can shield you from falling debris.
You should shut off your utilities when there is a strong smell of gas, when you know an appliance is leaking gas and it can't be isolated or shut-off at the appliance, when electric fixtures are smoking, smoldering or arcing, when water lines are flooding your house, when there is a fire, when people are injured as a result of working on or being co-located with dangerous utility services. Do not switch on the gas or electricity again until SDG&E has first checked your home.
Part of living with earthquakes is living with aftershocks. Earthquakes come in clusters. In any earthquake cluster, the largest one is called the mainshock anything before it is a foreshock and anything after it is an aftershock. Aftershocks usually occur geographically near their mainshock. Aftershocks are other earthquakes triggered either on the mainshock fault or at a distance from the mainshock fault no greater than the length of that fault. An earthquake large enough to cause damage will probably produce several aftershocks within the first hour. The rate of aftershocks dies off quickly-the decrease is proportional to the inverse of time since the mainshock.
For emergencies, call us immediately at 1-800-411-SDGE (7343).