HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KRON) – It’s been two weeks since a tsunami alert was triggered from a 7.0-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Humboldt County. While it was canceled in about an hour, it did highlight which communities were not prepared.  Leaders in San Mateo County have been holding meetings with residents to learn about ways they can better communicate during a tsunami.  A meeting was held Thursday at Mavericks House, which was full of coastal residents wanting answers from county leaders about what is being done to better prepare for a tsunami. Many called the alert a major stress test for the county." "It was totally chaotic. We were walking our dog on the beach when our phone went off with an alert for a tsunami,” one resident said.  Severe drop in donations affecting Salvation Army While the alert was not in effect for long, the damage was done, with thousands of people trying to evacuate. "What that resulted in was people getting on Highway 1. People were leaving places that were safe and going to places that were unsafe,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller.  Many say this shows the county is not prepared. "A lot of people in the low-lying areas got on Highway 1 and went south to go over 92. If it was a real tsunami it would have been disastrous,” one resident said.  County leaders agree. That’s why they have been holding multiple community meetings to address concerns and explain communication and preparedness improvements. Thursday night’s meeting was the eighth in the past two weeks.  One of many questions asked – Why didn’t the tsunami siren sound off? Mueller said authorities held off on sounding it because they didn't want to cause panic.  But people at the meeting said they panicked the moment they got the alert because they didn’t know if they were in an evacuation zone or not. Now, the county is working on making that clear by creating zone maps on a new website. "The idea is to clearly make it into simple language rather than saying something like ‘low-lying’ where people don't know what that means. So giving more clear direction,” said Dr. Shruti Dhapodkar, the director of San Mateo County’s Department of Emergency Management.  Next year, the county plans to continue its work with education. The new website and app should be released soon. The county plans to hold drills as well.