When the earth shakes, information cannot fail
About IGP
The Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) is Peru's state scientific entity responsible for monitoring the country's seismic activity. Its Último Sismo platform is the channel millions of Peruvians turn to immediately after feeling a tremor to find out what happened: magnitude, depth, location, and whether there's risk.
The problem
Imagine a strong earthquake hits Lima. Within seconds, millions of people grab their phones to search for information. But the IGP platform crashed precisely at that moment - when it was needed most.
The old system only supported 80 thousand queries per minute. After a major earthquake, demand exceeded that capacity in seconds. The result: blank screens, connection errors, and citizens without information at the most critical moment.
As Hernando Tavera, IGP director, explained: "We couldn't keep using outdated technologies. We had a huge database of emails and phone numbers to send reports, but the system simply couldn't keep up."
The solution
Together with Amber, IGP completely redesigned its platform to grow automatically based on demand. If 100 people check, it works. If 15 million check at the same time, it also works.
Axel Echevarría, CEO of Amber, explains: "We worked with the IGP team on a cloud-native solution using AWS services that scale on their own. Technology becomes a trust enabler: the platform cannot fail at the most critical moment."
How does it work now?
- The platform grows on its own when demand increases - no human intervention needed
- Information is distributed from multiple points across the country, reducing load times
- Alerts reach millions of people simultaneously in real time
- The system never goes down - 99.9% availability
- Seismic data is available in less than 3 minutes after the event
The process
The transformation was carried out in stages, working side by side with IGP's scientific team to avoid interrupting the existing service.
Understanding the problem
We analyzed how the old system worked, identified bottlenecks, and designed a solution that could grow without limits.
Building the new platform
We developed the new system on the AWS cloud, capable of serving millions of simultaneous queries without degradation.
Distributing information
We configured a distribution network that brings data closer to users across Peru, reducing response times.
Launch and monitor
We launched the new system and monitored it during real earthquakes to confirm it responded correctly under extreme pressure.
citizens
- Seismic information available in less than 3 minutes after the event
- The platform no longer crashes during strong earthquakes
- Over 15 million queries per minute supported without issues
- Access from any phone or computer, regardless of how many people are checking
IGP
- Service capacity multiplied by 1,500 times (from 80K to 15M queries/min)
- Self-maintaining system - no technicians needed during emergencies
- Technology foundation ready to expand to volcanic and landslide alerts
- State-level recognition for technological innovation
the country
- A seismic information system on par with the world's best
- Successful cooperation model between the State and private sector
- Infrastructure ready to incorporate artificial intelligence in the future
- AWS's Javier Cristancho highlighted that the next frontier will be generative AI to bring the State even closer to the population
Testimonials
Hernando Tavera IGP Institutional Director
"Peru is one of the most seismic countries in the world. Our responsibility is that information arrives when it is needed most. Today, within three minutes of an earthquake, Peruvians already have the answer in their hands. That is what changes with this platform."
Axel Echevarría CEO of Amber
"IGP could not afford to fail when an entire country is looking for answers at the same time. We redesigned the architecture on AWS, cloud native, with Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB and CloudFront. We went from 80 thousand to 15 million queries per minute. Technology, done right, becomes a trust enabler."
Javier Cristancho AWS Technology Leader for Latin America
"The IGP case demonstrates what the cloud can do for the public sector in the region. What is coming with GenAI will challenge the way the State interacts with citizens, and projects like this pave that path."
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