1. A method of monitoring a system for event reports, wherein event reports are delivered and stored in a first database, the method comprising: identifying, using a processor and memory, data flood conditions by monitoring the first database to identify event reports having characteristics whose occurrence in the first database exceeds a predetermined flood threshold value, such characteristics being stored in a second database, and containing such data flood conditions by retrieving such stored characteristics from the second database to identify subsequent event reports having the retrieved characteristics.