The Vajont disaster occurred in the valley of the same name, located between the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. In this area, a dam with a height of 261.60 meters was constructed, creating a hydroelectric reservoir holding over 150 million cubic meters of water.

On October 9, 1963, at 10:39 PM, a landslide estimated at 270 million cubic meters descended into the lake, causing the formation of a wave approximately 200 meters high. This wave destroyed everything in its path, with a part of it surpassing the dam and flowing towards the downstream settlements. The disaster resulted in the officially confirmed death of 1910 people. The severity of the events led UNESCO, during the International Year of Planet Earth in 2008, to classify the Vajont disaster as “one of the worst environmental disasters caused by humans,” attributed to the lack of understanding by engineers and geologists of the phenomenon they were studying.

Sixty years after the disaster, I have decided to write a book examining the dynamics and decisions that led to the tragedy. The book contextualizes these aspects within the historical period in which the events unfolded, using a model based on communication and decision-making processes, and delving into certain technical-scientific aspects. The arguments presented provide an additional perspective on the events and demonstrate the ongoing importance of this incident in today’s context.