One thing I remember re Northridge was that first it was a SOUND, a rumble, and THEN it shook. It was such a deep rumble.... oooohhh, I’m scaring myself remembering:-(
Heh, you're scaring me too. I recall a loud crash and my bed went airborne and then settled into shaking left and right then up and down. My area was hit by two quakes on two fault lines, the one in Northridge and a previously undetected fault line underneath my street.
Then there was the sound of my neighbor screaming "GAS LEAK! Everyone get out now! The building is going to blow!" He had gotten in late the night before and was as inebriated as ever.