ChEESE partners at BSC demonstrate Urgent HPC in Mexico’s National Earthquake Drill

Researchers Marisol Monterrubio, Georgina Díez, and Josep de la Puente from BSC, together with ChEESE coordinator Arnau Folch.

Researchers from the ChEESE Centre of Excellence for Exascale in Solid Earth, through their partners at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), applied urgent computing workflows on the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer during Mexico’s National Earthquake Drill on 19 September 2025, an annual nationwide exercise in which millions of citizens and institutions practice coordinated response to a hypothetical major earthquake. The exercise, conducted for the first time with European supercomputing technologies in a Latin American national drill, provided near-real-time seismic hazard analysis and impact maps to support rapid emergency response.

As part of the drill, the BSC team generated high-resolution ground-shaking maps, calculated key hazard parameters, and collaborated in real time with Mexico’s National Seismological Service (SSN) on impact reports. The exercise also validated technical and operational procedures, including automatic data transfer between SSN and European facilities, near-real-time simulation speeds, and visualization of seismic wave propagation. For this large-scale test, BSC was granted urgent access to over 200 GPUs on MareNostrum 5, simulating emergency computing conditions, a pioneering step for Europe’s Tier-0 supercomputing ecosystem.

Figures: Spectral acceleration (SA) maps of the hypothetical earthquake simulated on 19 September 2025. The left map shows the full area of estimated SA values, while the right focuses on potential intensities in Mexico City. The lower chart compares the maximum SA values from the simulations with records from different stations during the 19/09/1985 earthquake. Produced by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center in collaboration with the Mexican National Seismological Service.

“This exercise allowed us to test the technologies we have been developing at BSC since the first phase of the ChEESE project. While it was not a real emergency, the goal is to ensure that one day these tools can save lives,” said Marisol Monterrubio, Mexican researcher at BSC and scientific lead of the exercise.

The SSN, a member of the ChEESE Industry and Users Board (IUB), emphasized the value of this collaboration: “It is the first time we carry out a drill of this type with BSC and European projects. It is an excellent exercise to refine procedures and implement them in operational settings in the future,” explained Arturo Iglesias, director of the SSN.

The exercise relied on the urgent computing workflow UCIS4EQ (Urgent Computing Integrated Services for Earthquakes), which produces rapid shaking and impact maps using the Salvus code developed by Mondaic. This allowed the team to simulate cascading effects, test rapid response capabilities, and generate actionable data for authorities and first responders. A video produced by BSC’s Data Analytics & Visualization Group illustrates the earthquake scenario and the practical impact of HPC on crisis preparedness.

“Supercomputing allows us to address problems previously out of reach, both in terms of speed and resolution. With near real-time simulations, we can provide authorities with valuable tools for faster and more effective decision-making during emergencies,” adds Arnau Folch, researcher at GEO3BCN-CSIC and coordinator of the DT-GEO and ChEESE-2P projects.

The exercise is part of the trials planned by the ChEESE project to test the technologies and codes being developed and refined through the project. It also included stress-test scenarios to evaluate system performance under high-demand conditions, combining physical and cyber threats, as part of ChEESE’s mission to enhance resilience across critical infrastructures.

The participation in Mexico’s national drill demonstrated how ChEESE’s European HPC technologies can support large-scale emergency preparedness, through technological innovation and close collaboration with international partners.

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By Aerton Guimarães and Varvara Vedia
Photos by Aerton Guimarães and María Paz Baghetti
Video: Jeronimo Calderon and Guillermo Marin
From the ChEESE-2P Dissemination Team