Dutch flood evacuation remembrance

The Dutch newspaper Trouw reported on the historic near flood 20 years ago in 1995, in the area called Rivierenland (river land) in the Netherlands. While many levees have been reinforced, what is the sentiment of the inhabitants?

An overview of the river projects improving the levees since 1995:
1995-2005: Delta plan great rivers
Since 1996: High water protection program
2006-2015: Elaboration of the river area (NURG)
2007-2015: Space for the River
Since 2014: Delta program

On January 31, 1995, around 240,000 people were evacuated from the river area in the center of the country, after more than 10,000 people evacuated earlier  in the Southern province Limburg. Even though the levees have since been reinforced, they are now getting another round of reinforcements. About 200 km of levee has not passed the safety norm tests. In one area this means 58 houses have to be demolished. To encourage the repeated spreading of safety messages, the water board sponsors commemorative plates and theater pieces about the evacuation 20 years ago. One building initiative is called a climate levee, akin to the Japanese superlevee, where the levee is extended in width and people may live on it.

One inhabitant of a town where the levees almost broke has initiated such a commemorative plaque for the almost-flood. In the town Ochten people suddenly had to evacuate within 3 hours, unlike other towns that had more than a day to prepare. After the evacuation, many families moved as they didn't feel safe anymore. But this person feels protected by the new governmental projects to reinforce the levees.

Another inhabitant of the floodplains recalls how they had to evacuate their cattle. Afterwards he was angry at the government for not maintaining the levees and not reimbursing evacuation costs. He joined the water board to make sure this failure would not occur again. He remembers older stories too, from a flood in 1926 his mother experienced where the roof of their house floated away. During the December 1993 high water he already considered what to do in case of an evacuation. During the January 1995 evacuation his family could stay at a vacation park, which was nice for his children who even got swimsuits for free. However, there was a lack of modern communication devices such as mobile phones or internet, and he didn't know the whereabouts of his parents for days. Afterwards he joined the protests against the government plans to not reimburse 100% of the evacuation costs, and now feels proud to be part of the government that then failed to protect the inhabitants. This way he can make sure this is not repeated.