Running shoes would be a big step up from the standard dress shoe and would provide good traction and footing. The ideal apres quake footgear would be a pair of well broken in, hightop leather boots with lugged soles and leather laces - basically what is sold for wildland fire fighting. Most folks are more likely to have running shoes.

I notice that nowadays a lot of folks take walking and exercise breaks and are likely to have running shoes handy. The real problem is that if you evacuate your building because of an earthquake, you are not likely to have time to change shoes, or even necessarily to grab them on your way out.

I have tried, unsuccessfully, to find a very fine series of posts by Schwert on this very topic some years ago (I am a search Neanderthal). He had very thoughtfully considered the specifics of getting home in his situation and had assembled a very decent, compact kit. His work is well worth reading.