Depending on your proximity to the epicenter, sometimes you can hear a big earthquake before it hits. It won't help much if it hits in the middle of the night

Depending on your proximity to the epicenter, sometimes you can hear a big earthquake before it hits. It won't help much if it hits in the middle of the night when you're asleep, but a second or two is enough to drop under your desk and avoid the most frequent danger, falling objects.