European solidarity is working to help the British and Australian authorities fight the floods in northern England and the unprecedented fires in New South Wales (state in the southeast of Australia), the European Commission announced on Wednesday 13 November.
In response to the request for assistance from the authorities of each of the two countries to the Commission, the European Copernicus programme has been activated to provide emergency satellite maps to locate the damage with a high degree of accuracy and to assess its extent. “The EU is ready to provide more assistance”, said the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, on the same day.
The torrential rains that caused flooding in northern and central England killed one person last week. More than 100 fires have already caused three deaths in Australia, where a state of emergency has been declared. The European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is closely monitoring the situation. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is available to provide assistance and equipment if requested. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)