I think it's because, while we've gotten much better over time, we humans are still not as effective at dealing with abstractions as the tangible. 100 people dy

I think it's because, while we've gotten much better over time, we humans are still not as effective at dealing with abstractions as the tangible. 100 people dying is a tragedy, but 1 person close to be dying is something else altogether. We can't possibly comprehend the multiple permutations of that "something else" playing out x100, multiplied by all the people who are close to them. It's simply incalculable.