Was the Bay Area ready for a tsunami after Russia's 8.8 earthquake? Here's what we found

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Tsunami Advisory was canceled late Wednesday morning for the Bay Area as waves hit the California coast after massive 8.8 quake in the eastern coastline of Russia.

ABC7 News reporter Luz Pena spoke to multiple Bay Area counties to check how they prepared in case the tsunami risk increased in our region.

"We had some practice at the end of last year with another Tsunami Warning and so this was something that is always a surprise, but we were prepared. We brought together our city policy makers, and all of our departments, we are in close coordination with the state CALOES and the National Tsunami Center and the National Weather Service," said Mary Ellen Carroll, Executive Director of the Department of Emergency Management.

She confirmed the city's tsunami playbook was ready with clear protocols based on the risk level. The city released tsunami hazard zone map highlighting in blue the risk areas.

"Probably within about an hour or two, (we) understood the time frame which was going to be about 1 a.m. in the morning that it would be most likely arrive to our shore whatever that was. That gave us a sense that was going to happen in the middle of the night, what do we need to do before then. Luckily shortly thereafter, we understood the impact would be about a foot," said Mary Ellen Carroll.

LIVE UPDATES: Tsunami Advisory canceled for Bay Area as waves hit CA coast after massive 8.8 quake

Every county activated their emergency command centers. We went to the one in San Mateo County.

"It's like this 24/7, 365 (days a year), and this is where we would start if we have any major event that is going on. Wildfire, earthquake, severe weather. We would come in here and this really is about understanding what is going on and understanding what is happening in the field," described Ryan Reynolds, Assistant Director of the San Mateo County Department of Emergency Management.

The map shows the locations of their 8 sirens in San Mateo County along the cities in the coast. They said the sirens are an added layer of notification in case of a higher tsunami risk, but during an advisory, the sirens were not necessary.

"We would only set those off if we had an event. We knew it was coming, and it would be sort of right prior to the arrival. Maybe 15 minutes, maybe 30 minutes prior. That is really for people who didn't get the alert any other way and who may still be on the beach as a last sign of defense. You are in danger, get off the beach," said Reynolds.

MORE: What to know about Tsunami Advisory in effect for Bay Area coastline after Russia earthquake

In Sonoma County, police offices and sheriff deputies reached out to campers off the grid, in risk areas, and sending push alerts to keep the public informed.

"Very well prepared, we actually are a certified Tsunami safe county to do that of course we have the normal signs out there warning people specific inundations zones, evacuation routes and possible shelters they can go to," said Sam Wallis, Deputy Director of the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management.

MORE: California hit with tsunami waves after massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake

The tsunami threat was low enough that none of the sirens would have gone off. In San Francisco, we confirmed the sirens are still nonoperational and to fix them it would cost the city $20 million, something that is not in the current budget.

For more information about San Francisco's tsunami preparedness, click here.