Grillo Partners with UNDP to Build Caribbean's First EEW in Haiti

Grillo is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Digicel Haiti, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to implement the first earthquake early warning system (EEW) in the Caribbean region, specifically designed for Haiti's National Disaster Risk Management System (SNGRD).

Planned sensor deployment locations across Haiti

Why Haiti Needs This Now

Haiti faces exceptional seismic risk due to its position along active faults between major tectonic plates. The devastating earthquakes of 2010 (M7.1, approximately 200,000 deaths) and 2021 (M7.2, 2,248 deaths, $1.6 billion in damages) underscore the critical importance of early warning infrastructure.

Currently, no Caribbean country has a functioning public earthquake early warning system, making this project pioneering and potentially transformative for regional disaster risk reduction.

The Project

Over six months, Grillo will deploy a network of 100 seismic sensors across Haiti:

50 Grillo Pulse sensors installed at Digicel cellular tower locations along active fault lines for rapid earthquake detection
50 Grillo One sensors deployed in populated areas to measure shaking intensity and provide ground-truth data for alert calibration

Using our proven technology—which has outperformed Mexico's government EEW system (SASMEX) in detection speed and coverage—we will establish a cloud-based platform capable of detecting earthquakes in real-time and issuing mobile phone alerts to at-risk populations.

This Phase 1 project delivers a functional prototype with test alerts. The system will detect real earthquakes and generate alerts distributed via mobile phones to controlled test user groups for validation and refinement.

Key Objectives

Deploy 50 Grillo Pulse sensors at Digicel tower sites and 50 Grillo One sensors in populated areas
Establish cloud-based infrastructure (AWS) for real-time earthquake detection and alert generation
Integrate alert distribution via Digicel's mobile network
Conduct comprehensive system testing and validation
Transfer knowledge and technical capabilities to Haitian institutions for long-term system maintenance

Partnership Structure

UNDP Haiti provides project financing, coordination, and connection to Haiti's disaster risk management institutions.

Digicel Haiti, the country's leading telecommunications provider, offers access to cellular tower infrastructure for sensor installation and will facilitate alert distribution in future phases.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides the cloud infrastructure platform, ensuring high reliability, low latency data processing, and security best practices.

Clinton Global Initiative facilitates connections in and out of Haiti for the project, leveraging their extensive network of global partners and stakeholders.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provided previous funding for this project, which has been used for the sensor hardware deployed in this phase.

SNGRD (Système National de Gestion des Risques et des Désastres) is Haiti's national disaster risk management authority and the primary government stakeholder for this project.

Bureau des Mines et de l'Énergie (BME) is Haiti's geological and energy agency, providing technical expertise and institutional support for the seismic monitoring network.

Building on Experience

Grillo's methodology draws on proven approaches successfully deployed in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, and Nepal. The sensors for this deployment were obtained through a grant from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 2023.

The system will feature:

Grillo Pulse sensors with dual sensing technology (4.5Hz geophone + MEMS accelerometer), solar-powered with LTE connectivity and GPS timing for off-grid deployment at Digicel tower sites
Grillo One sensors with MEMS triaxial accelerometer, Ethernet/WiFi connectivity and NTP timing for deployment in populated areas
Real-time data transmission and cloud-based processing via Grillo Cloud
Automated seismic catalog generation with SISTEM
Web-based monitoring dashboard for stakeholders

A Historic Step for the Caribbean

This project represents a significant milestone in Caribbean disaster resilience. By combining Grillo's proven sensor technology with UNDP's development expertise, Digicel's telecommunications infrastructure, and AWS's cloud capabilities, we can create an integrated early warning system that protects millions of people across the region.

The lessons learned and infrastructure established in Haiti will serve as a foundation for expanding earthquake early warning throughout the Caribbean—a region that has long needed but never had access to this life-saving technology.