Previous events

After previous floods in North East England we've asked the public to help us by sending in their photos and videos of the event. This data has proved enormously useful, allowing our team of researchers in conjunction with Local Authorities to understand these events and make changes to mitigate the effects of future intense rainfall. We focussed on three main events.

  • Morpeth flooded on 6th September 2008, when the River Wansbeck broke its banks. We asked the public to send in their photos and the time and location where they were taken, which you can see on this map.
  • Many parts of Newcastle were flooded during peak commuting time on 28th June 2012, by unusually intense extreme rainfall. The public were again able to provide photos of the flooding, but this time we also received videos, data from amateur weather stations, and reviewed thousands of messages posted on social media, often including a location and picture. Photos uploaded by the public are online here.
  • Morpeth flooded again in 2012, although less severe than the previous event. Once again we asked for photos, which are available online.

The data provided allow us to study the events in more detail, often by constructing computer models describing the behaviour of water, the precipitation and the underlying ground. Photographic data and comments allow us to assess the validity of these models, and if they are correct, they can then be used to analyse different options for flood defences or other interventions.

We are extremely grateful to everyone who provided data, knowingly or otherwise. You will find full details of the work undertaken in Morpeth in this report; work is ongoing for Newcastle.