Lots of people were talking about tins and cutlery after the 'big one' a couple of years ago because of aftershocks.
I decided I don't want to wake up terrified when I would otherwise sleep through it.
You're best off staying in bed under your covers to be honest, advice is not to go running outside.
If it's a big one likely to cause any harm you will almost certainly know about it unless you're a very heavy sleeper.
Weird that so many people heard this huge bang yet no one has heard what it was, very odd.
Eric posted some excellent links for what to do in a quake, don't have time to search at the mo, but some great advice.