I am worried about experiencing an earthquake. Do you have any advice?

I recently moved to California and have been woken up, a few times, in the middle of the night with horrible anxiety. I am worried that there will be an earthquake and/or resulting fire (I have always been petrified of house fires, although I’ve never been in one). Today, I woke up to hear that there was a 4.1 quake just outside of San Francisco… I didn’t feel it, but it woke one of my friends up.

I don’t know what scares me… maybe just the unknown, since I don’t know what to expect. But I think my biggest fear is my cats, and I worry that if I’m not home, I won’t be able to help them. They should be smart enough to hide somewhere safe if there is a quake, right? As soon as I take the vacuum out, my boy runs and hides; I would imagine that if the ground started to shake, he’d do the same.

What can I do to be best prepared for this? What is your experience with earthquakes? Any advice?