Modeling the catastrophe, and beyond. Digital History and Visualization methods for multiscalar process description of the Nubia Temples flooding

World heritage sites are exposed to the impacts of natural and human-induced catastrophic events which threaten their integrity. According with UNESCO the loss or deterioration of these outstanding properties have severely negative impacts on local communities because of their cultural importance and because of their socio-economic value. The paper focuses on a multiscalar human-induced environmental change with catastrophic effects on the Nubia temples and on the prospective of using a multiscalar process description for studying and visualizing historical and environmental changes related to disasters. Beyond the disaster, the displacement both of temples and villages provoked other kind of damages. The case study presents how the disaster and the risk of damages on Cultural Heritage can be recorded and monitored at the scale of temples, artistic elements (i.e. statues, decorations), till the large portion of territory including villages. The paper highlights the disaster caused by the High Aswan Dam as a warning for an international awareness on a sustainable development that needs to take into account the cultural heritage. It discusses the cultural memory as crucial for Disaster Risk Reduction strategies. Our approach uses 3D models in order to collect data and to make understandable risks, damages and solutions. Historical research and Visualization methods create a fresh context of knowledge for a case study strongly representative of the World Heritage Disaster.