These protocols were also implemented in 1995, including mass evacuations. Most evacuees were taken to the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, where folding beds, tables and chairs were ready for them. More than a thousand people registered because they could not visit family.
“Some people have been released. I hear from others that they are happy that they have a roof over their heads here and that they feel safe here,” said the spokesperson for the Welfare Department, the organization behind the shelter location. The fire brigade also called for games, because after the shelter was arranged, time management becomes the main problem.
In addition, the patients from the hospital in Tiel were transferred to the AZU, which is now the UMC Utrecht. “The atmosphere among the evacuees is – I may say – very good considering the circumstances,” said Rolf de Torter of the AZU.