Trouble with this passage

Question

楽しんでいいの？

一方で当時、皆が感じていたことがあります。

災害のさなかに楽しんでいいのだろうかという空気です。

４月も半ばすぎ、避難所の脇にあった桜が満開になった頃、私（後藤）は南三陸町で取材をしていました。

住民の中には桜を見て楽しんでいいのか、戸惑いを口にする人がいたことから、私は住民の人を誘い、満開の桜を見に行きました。(source)

1. I don't understand the construction and the meaning of 皆が感じていたことがあります. Is it:

   • こと with a relative clause (as in 論文に書いたことを話してください), or
   • the 〜したことがある pattern (it seems to fit the pattern of the latter but the meaning doesn't seem to fit the context)?

2. What is the object of 感じる?

3. What does 住民の中 refer to?

   Does the journalist ask himself a question or rather say the question that everyone is thinking about (住民の中には桜を見て楽しんでいいのか)?

4. What does 戸惑いを口にする人がいたことから mean? I think it means "because there were confused people" but it seems weird according to the context?

Answer 1

1-2) Yes, the こと is like in 論文に書いたことを話してください. Here it means There is something everyone feels/notices. This feeling is explained in next sentence as 災害のさなかに楽しんでいいのだろうかという空気.

3) 住民の中 is referring to among the 住民.

4) You're right in the interpretation, it's talking about how there are some people who say their doubts out loud. What kind of doubts? 桜を見て楽しんでいいのか. What kind of people are they? 住民の中

Answer 2

1. This こと is for nominalization. 当時、皆が感じていたことがあります means "There is what everyone felt at that time.

2. It is "something". "something" is described in the following sentense as 災害のさなかに楽しんでいいのだろうかという空気.

3,4. It means "Because there were some puzzled inhabitants who thought whether they might enjoy looking cherry blossoms or not." They were puzzled whether they might enjoy looking cherry blossoms or not.