[2][3] The Environment Agency recorded 150 millimetres (5.9 in) of precipitation falling in the Wansbeck catchment area between Friday 5 and Saturday 6 September.

Based on three storm events, a reliable flow gauge located upstream of Morpeth at the confluence of the Wansbeck and Font showed that 99.9% of rain fall is converted into surface runoff.

Furthermore, increased urbanisation since the 1960s in Morpeth meant that most water falling on the town would have drained directly to the river channel.

[6] This means that any water falling in the catchment area would have been rapidly converted into channel flow by surface runoff and to a lesser extent by throughflow.

Fire fighters, ambulance crews, the RAF, the RNLI and the British Red Cross were among the emergency services involved in rescue and recovery operations over the weekend, as well as some local nurses, GPs, a pharmacist and school staff who volunteered once the news of the flood broke out.

[8] Among the businesses there, the ironmongers Smails and Sons, a cornerstone of the Morpeth community for over sixty years, was left completely out of stock.

Mr Healey was also in talks with insurance industry chiefs, discussing their plans for dealing with a large number of claims in affected areas as quickly and effectively as possible.

An Environment Agency report published in December 2007 had suggested that the town's flood walls needed improvement.

The Prince of Wales (now Charles III) and the Duchess of Cornwall made an official visit on Friday 12 September, during which they inspected the damage and spoke with victims of the flood.