There is no one alive now in the community who has a first hand memory of the next highest flood which hit the area 102 years ago. In the mean time floods have been rare but not of any regular pattern. Two of the '50 year ' floods hit 4 years apart. There has been nary a field drown out since 1968 in the Vernonia area which has provided plenty of time for everyone to forget, and those levels were below the 1894 level easily lulling one to believe that the 1894 flood was the 'worst case' scenario. Well, not quite.
People forget about floods fairly quickly and new comers are common.
It was interesting to watch the TV interviews of people in the worst flooded areas taken during the flood. While living in a flood zone is not a preferred idea, the Nehalem Valley folks have little choice. Considering the statistical odds that no one now living will see flood waters that high again, most people are likely to eventually dig out, rebuild and go on with life, with this being just one more trial in their life.