Not so sure about the not being able to sense disasters. We have more distractions, perhaps. A cacophony of sensorial data for our minds to sift through. I think that our ability to sense things just gets drown out. Some of it is still there, ever feel like you're being watched or that something just isn't right? A "gut feeling" about something that all other senses seem to indicate are fine? That, I think, is the sense you're referring to, just muted.