The president of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP), Hernando Tavera, reported that the national seismic alert system continues in the development phase and that its formal implementation is projected for 2026. This technology will allow for the issuance of advance warnings of earthquakes in coastal areas, similar to the system that operates in Mexico.
Tavera explained that the project includes the installation of sensors and speakers in ten regions of the Peruvian coast and that it has suffered delays due to the pandemic and the complexity of its execution. He also indicated that, if the planned schedule is maintained, a “white march” could begin next year, a test stage that will include citizen participation.
“The project is still in development. We hope that next year we can speak positively”, he declared to Canal N. Likewise, he specified that what was observed in districts such as Jesús María – where antennas have already been installed – corresponds to this preparatory phase.
Tavera specified that the messages sent to cell phones during recent earthquakes do not correspond to early warnings. He stated that these are warnings after the event, issued by INDECI and the Ministry of Transportation, and not a real-time seismic alert system.
“The current system does not alert; informs. There is still no active early warning technology as expected to be implemented”, he highlighted.
In that sense, Tavera maintained that the key difference is that an alert can be disseminated seconds before the earthquake, while current messages only communicate what has already occurred.
In his evaluation, Tavera recalled that in Peru, on average, around 800 earthquakes are recorded per year. Also, it identified the coasts off Lima, Nazca-Arequipa and Moquegua-Tacna as critical areas, where the coupling of tectonic plates could give rise to large-scale events in the future.
The recent 6.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Chimbote focused public attention. According to the IGP, in the first 24 hours 36 aftershocks were recorded, of which only six were perceived by the population. Tavera appreciated that the homes have adequately supported this level of movement, although he warned that this behavior does not guarantee a similar response to a larger event.
