---
title: Copernicus Emergency Management Service
summary: The EU's rapid mapping of disasters (flood extents from satellites) and the European flood awareness system.
mount: <div class="card"><p class="kicker">Open data and APIs</p><div class="wx-scroll" tabindex="0"><svg class="mg" viewBox="0 0 994 56" width="994" height="56" role="img" aria-label="Copernicus Emergency Management Service: what it is connected to"><style>.mg text{font:12px var(--sans);fill:var(--ink)}.mg .mg-sub,.mg .mg-verb{font-size:10px;fill:var(--ink-2)}.mg-node rect{fill:var(--surface);stroke:var(--line-2)}.mg-node.me rect{stroke:var(--focus);stroke-width:2}.mg-node.unstated rect{stroke-dasharray:2 3;fill:var(--paper)}a.mg-node:hover rect,a.mg-node:focus rect{stroke:var(--focus);stroke-width:2}.mg-edge{fill:none;stroke:var(--ink-2);stroke-opacity:.55;stroke-width:1}.mg-edge.unv{stroke-dasharray:5 4}</style><path class="mg-edge" d="M232 23C306 23 306 28 380 28"><title>stated on the page: emergency.copernicus.eu</title></path><text class="mg-verb" x="240" y="19" text-anchor="start">publishes</text><a class="mg-node " href="body-copernicus.html"><rect x="2" y="8" width="230" height="30" rx="4"/><text x="9" y="21">Copernicus (European Union)</text><text class="mg-sub" x="9" y="33">Bodies</text></a><g class="mg-node me"><rect x="380" y="13" width="230" height="30" rx="4"/><text x="387" y="26">Copernicus Emergency Management Ser…</text><text class="mg-sub" x="387" y="38">Open data and APIs</text></g></svg></div><p class="wx-legend meta">Left: what points at it. Right: what it points at. Each line carries its verb; a dashed line was not confirmed on the page cited, or the site does not say; the table below gives the page and the time read for each. <span class="prov">From <a href="data-copernicus-ems.json">data-copernicus-ems.json</a></span></p></div>
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# Copernicus Emergency Management Service

> Kept by incident.meteorology@web-summit.dinis, 11 November 2026, 11:36 UTC

[Where a forecast comes from](../index.md) · Open data and APIs · id `data-copernicus-ems` · [as data](data-copernicus-ems.json)

The EU's rapid mapping of disasters (flood extents from satellites) and the European flood awareness system.

**Address:** [https://emergency.copernicus.eu/](https://emergency.copernicus.eu/) (leaves this site)  
**Our page about the site** (by incident.weatherwatch@): [research/weather-sites](../../research/weather-sites/sites/copernicus-ems.md)

## What it is connected to, and who says so

**The same thing elsewhere on this site:** `source:copernicus-ems` in [the register of sources](../../sources/registry.json) (a join we state, not a match by address).

| This | Verb | That | The page that says so | Read | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copernicus Emergency Management Service | **published by** | [Copernicus (European Union)](body-copernicus.md) | [emergency.copernicus.eu](https://emergency.copernicus.eu/): "Home / Copernicus EMS Home #EUSpace News Events Jobs & Tenders FAQs About us User corner Access to data Copernicus Emergency Management Service People walking in a street full of" | 11:29 UTC, 11 Nov | stated on the page |

## Licence: what we may do with it

**Copernicus Emergency Management Service (mapping products)**: Described as a "free of charge mapping service"; the licence of the products themselves not yet read ([mapping.emergency.copernicus.eu](https://mapping.emergency.copernicus.eu/), read 11:31 UTC, 11 Nov, stated on the page).

| Read | Store | Show | Transform | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yes | unclear | unclear | unclear | Not yet read; Copernicus products usually ask for "Copernicus Emergency Management Service (© European Union), [activation code]". |


## What it offers for Lisbon and Madeira this week

Flood and damage maps from satellites, made when a country's authority asks (an "activation"). If Portugal activates it for Charles, the flood extents would appear here.

- **Endpoint:** `https://mapping.emergency.copernicus.eu/activations/api/activations/`
- **Key:** none
- **Format:** JSON list; products as vector and raster files
- **Size:** 3.6 KB for five activations (our probe); 1,069 activations in all
- **Cadence:** when an authority asks; maps within hours to days
- **This week** (probe read 02:29 UTC, 11 Nov): Read 02:29 UTC: no activation for Storm Charles. The most recent listed was a flood in Spain of 19 October 2026; the last naming Portugal was for wildfires on 30 July 2026.
- **How to read it:** `GET ?limit=N; each result has code, countries, category, name, activationTime.`
- **Limits:** Its products' licence was not read in full: see the licence row.

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Not a warning service: this page explains where data comes from. For warnings follow [IPMA](https://www.ipma.pt/pt/otempo/prev-sam/) and ANEPC.