05/10/2020 (Agence Europe) – In response to a request for assistance from the Italian authorities, the European Copernicus programme was activated on the evening of Sunday 4 October by the European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) to immediately provide satellite maps of the flood damage in Piedmont, the institution announced the same day. Copernicus was also activated on Monday 5 October to assist civil protection authorities in France, as the Maritime Alps were badly affected by Storm Alex. “We stand ready for further assistance”, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič, expressing the EU’s solidarity with all those affected in the two countries on their Twitter accounts. (AN)