Apparently the thing to do in an earthquake is to go outside. I don't know why, because I've never lived along a fault line. But perhaps one of our Californian friends can answer this question for us?

To avoid the house collapsing on top of them

Growing up in CA we always stood in doorways in the house during earthquakes.

Going outside can be dangerous in case a power line goes down or any structures fall. It's best just to get under a table or move away from the walls and protect your head. To be honest, most of the time they're over before you can really think out a plan of action.

I've actually lived in a community with underground cables. If there was an earthquake outside would've been the safest place.

30 is right, it's best to stay put and not go outside or move for that matter, things could fall on you and you could be injured. Also, a doorway is one of the worst places to be in an earthquake.

Yes. That's what they advise around here. Most of the houses and buildings are extremely old and there is a lot of open spaces to go where nothing can fall on you.

What we were taught in school in Southern California is to go under a large piece of furniture and get away from any windows. But in reality, most earthquakes were over before anyone could react.

I live in the area of the New Madrid fault line, I've never heard of anywhere being taught to go outside during an earthquake.

I find it incredibly odd anyone would think going outside during an earthquake was safe. But I've got 30 odd years of earthquake preparedness drummed into my head curtesy of the state of California, so maybe it's different for those who don't live on an active fault line.

This was driving me crazy, so I googled it-- the state of California earthquake preparedness website states that if you are indoors, remain indoors and move away from windows. If you are outside, remain outside and move away from structures, power lines and trees. You are not supposed to actually move through any structure during an earthquake.