Just how bad was Storm Desmond?

Storm Desmond was an exceptional event which saw the highest river levels on the River Tyne since the great flood of 1771. It followed a month of rainfall in November which saturated ground conditions across the North East.

It involved:

The highest levels since records began were recorded at Bywell (6.96m) and Corbridge (5.76m)

The environment agency carried out emergency repairs to 80 metres of flood bank in Corbridge, working into the night to ensure it was repaired before more heavy rainfall passed through.