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GEM Impact Story Series
Fascination with Puzzles and Numbers at an Early Age
From a young age, I was captivated by puzzles and numbers. I’d spend hours piecing puzzles together, unknowingly honing focus and patience. Numbers fascinated me too - I saw them as something fun and infinite. Even a simple abacus felt exciting. Looking back, these early passions quietly laid the groundwork for the skills I rely on every day in my professional life.
Growth and Change: Brotherhood, Memory and the Shape Of Time
Riding bikes with my older brother was our childhood adventure - climbing hills, meeting friends, and watching the sky shift at sunset. Those moments taught me to notice time passing, a feeling of wonder that still lingers. We shared everything, just 1.5548 years apart - a number I proudly calculated as a kid. Our bond gave us a mix of sensitivity and resilience, shaped by growing up in a world before and during the tech boom. Looking back helps me stay connected to what’s always been there, quietly guiding who I’ve become.
Epicentre of a Calling: the Day Buildings Fell and Fear Found a Voice
I was 13 when the earth showed me its power. On 13 January 2001, a 7.7-magnitude quake struck while I was in a four-storey building with my brother. The shaking felt endless. I learned that buildings can fall, and fear has a sound: screams, cracking walls, and a pounding heart. Aftershocks followed, along with damage to our home. But the worst was the landslide that claimed friends and family. That day left a lasting scar - and unknowingly, it became the starting point of everything that would shape me.
Between Beams and Blueprints: Discovering a Duty to Protect
My parents - an architect and a civil engineer - taught me that engineering is more than a job; it’s service and hope. Visiting construction sites as a child, I found my calling. I pursued Civil Engineering, drawn to equations and problem-solving. But even then, I felt it had to mean more than exams - it had to protect lives. I began to see that good design isn’t just technical; it’s a tool for resilience and safety.
From Fault Lines to Frontlines: Teamwork and the Quiet Power of Leadership
In 2010, I joined the Ministry of Environment, where I realised that understanding risk was only the beginning - you had to communicate it, monitor it, and act on it. I started as a seismic and geological monitoring technician, working long shifts with limited equipment but strong determination. I automated processes, built tools, and steadily moved closer to my goal: protecting people through meaningful, data-informed action.
While working full-time, I pursued an MBA to better understand how to manage, plan, and lead. It was challenging - juggling night classes and monitoring shifts - but it taught me discipline, teamwork, and leadership. Blanchard’s Situational Leadership model still guides me today.
A Door in a Wall: Discovering GEM and Openquake
In 2014, I discovered GEM and its OpenQuake tools - it made science feel clear and accessible. I tested El Salvador data and joined a global community through forums. In 2017, while studying in Japan, I used GEM for my thesis on school buildings’ seismic vulnerability. That moment changed everything: I realised science, local context, and human purpose could work together to reduce risk and build resilience.
Open Tools, Shared Goals: Strengthening Risk Assessment Across Borders
In 2019, I returned to El Salvador and proposed using OpenQuake and local data to update outdated hazard models. I shared my knowledge, and soon these methods were used in World Bank and IDB projects. Though abroad during the CCARA project, I contributed essential strong-motion classifications. Later, I was invited to Costa Rica - proof that a shared regional vision for seismic risk was finally taking shape.
The FORCE Project – A Turning Point in Risk and Policy
The FORCE project marked a turning point - we built El Salvador’s first open national seismic risk model. For the first time, we included future risk projections, linking urban growth and socioeconomic trends. It was eye-opening: how we build today shapes tomorrow’s risk. This tool helped influence policy, support our new seismic code, and show that risk reduction is not just technical - it’s political, economic, and deeply human.
A Beacon in the Chaos: The Interactive Seismic Risk Dashboard
A major milestone was creating an interactive seismic risk dashboard to estimate losses and guide emergency response - essential in a country where every minute matters. FORCE also updated our exposure model and fostered collaboration. I built an ArcGIS Survey app using GEM’s taxonomy, enabling institutions to collect data. These practical, replicable tools are what we need for effective earthquake preparedness and response.
As the Earth Moves, So Must We
I’ve grown, studied, and travelled - but I’m still that boy who learned the earth moves, and we must move with it: wisely and with purpose. Now, as a father, every model, code, or training I work on carries deeper meaning. One day, I hope my daughter sees that science is about people - and that perseverance and kindness can shape a safer, more hopeful world.
What We Remember, We Prepare For
Finally, I hope this story serves as a reminder that we live on seismic land, and that memory must stay alive. Earthquake preparedness shouldn’t begin only after a disaster; it must be woven into our daily decisions, into our building codes, and into the way we imagine the future. If this story can inspire other professionals, young people, or decision-makers to take action, then it has already fulfilled its purpose.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
Grazie Mille!
About the GEM Impact Stories
Earthquake risk remains abstract and highly technical, and there are significant risks that due to poor or limited understanding of it, policymakers and the public at large may not be able to fully take advantage of existing and future information that can either help create better or enhance existing earthquake risk reduction and management strategies, especially at the local and national level.
Specifically, the GEM Impact Stories project aims to:
Collect and document stories where GEM or its partners have contributed to positive change;
Encourage policy and decision makers to use science- and evidence- based information to formulate earthquake DRR strategy at the national level through positive stories of change; and
Increase awareness of the public at large on earthquake risk and preparedness.
A Q&A with Prof. Ana Beatriz Acevedo
Ana Beatriz Acevedo is a Civil Engineer with Master and PhD degrees on Earthquake Engineering, and currently a Professor of Civil Engineering at EAFIT University in Medellin, Colombia handling earthquake engineering and earthquake risk assessment courses.
Acknowledgement
This story is a collaboration between the GEM Foundation, Pavia, Italy and EAFIT University, Medellin, Colombia. Our heartfelt thanks goes to: Prof. Ana Acevedo for contributing her story and valuable time with us; EAFIT staff for the photos; GEM and EUCENTRE for the support provided during the preparation of this pilot GEM Impact Story.
Related Contents
Science for Social Change
Prof. Ana Acevedo's full interview transcript in PDF brochure format.
Title:
Science for Social Change
Video:
Prof. Ana Acevedo's interview
Duration:
3mins 25secs