In BC, Canada, the recommendation is to take cover under a desk e.g.
My personal take is that if I have a chance to make it quickly out of a building I prefer to be out of it rather than having it collapse on me. It's one of those things where the recommendation probably is the right thing for the general population and all expected earthquakes but I'm optimizing for something else. You have 10-20 seconds realistically. But yes things falling off the walls and off buildings and anything that can fall on you is a risk. In my office or home e.g. I'm typically on the ground floor within seconds of an exit so my mental preparation is to avoid the building falling on me. Maybe it's the wrong calculus but hey...
In the Loma Prieta earthquake most of my coworkers fled the newly constructed office building. Dodged falling ceramic roofing tiles. And then ran across the parking lot to take safety under the power lines.
Training and advice is about the expected disaster, not necessarily the one you are in.
In 9/11, lots of people escaped the south tower using elevators, which is the opposite of what you're told to do. There are people who died because they chose to follow the stair route. But others died because they were trapped in elevators.
My personal take is that if I have a chance to make it quickly out of a building I prefer to be out of it rather than having it collapse on me. It's one of those things where the recommendation probably is the right thing for the general population and all expected earthquakes but I'm optimizing for something else. You have 10-20 seconds realistically. But yes things falling off the walls and off buildings and anything that can fall on you is a risk. In my office or home e.g. I'm typically on the ground floor within seconds of an exit so my mental preparation is to avoid the building falling on me. Maybe it's the wrong calculus but hey...