A disaster creates more than just devastation and destruction. Such an event can also function as a cultural seismograph. A disaster results in many reactions, thereby bringing the contemporary world of ideas and people's values into immediate focus. This project will investigate one of the greatest disasters in Swedish history, the 'Döda Fallen Disaster', which occurred on the night between 6th and 7th June, 1796. An attempt to dig a channel past Storforsen, a stretch of rapids on the Indal river, led to the river breaking a new course and drowning the valley in a tidal wave. Prior to the ensuing legal process, an inspection was carried out in the area at which all parties concerned could put forward their views on the catastrophe and their claims for compensation. Thanks to this inspection it is possible to grasp the frame of reference by which common people understood the disaster. Officials, lawyers and other persons in authority also interpreted the event at the same time. The aim of this project is to analyse the attitudes to nature, problems and legal concepts that were introduced in the encounter between learned interpretations and popular culture. In what ways was the disaster morally charged? What were the relations between religious, scientific and legal explanations? Were there any legal precedents to fall back on, and what role was assigned to nature? Furthermore, the aim of this project is to examine the catastrophe in a larger context, thereby offering perspectives on the present debate about a risk society, norm formation and the relation between society and nature.