I have a friend who was living in LA with her husband and children at the time. Their house was damaged, but they managed to escape without injury. She said they awoke to darkness, and didn’t realize at first what was happening.
Both of those quakes were in the darkness. It takes a few tries to get back into the house and garage for coffee and camp stove. Every time you set foot in there, there is another aftershock.
Those of us that know quakes just pause for a moment to see if it is going to get stronger.
I was at work one time when a small quake hit. It was one of those earthquake proof factories that is on rollers and oriented to the fault lines. The higher up you go, the more exaggerated the shaking is. I asked the machinist downstairs how hard he felt it, he didn’t. He had just retired from the Navy.