But there are some special situations where our senses are enhanced. And such is the case of the ancient plagues, but in modern life, we have the earthquakes and floods. In the aftermath of urban disasters the smell could be terrible.I found a very good article by Andrei Codrescu “New Orleans: the Art of the Corpse”,  he well explains the haptic sensations after Katrina’s flood, in New Orleans, USA. Mostly, the unbearable smell. And, curiously, the folk urban art as a kind of consequence.
myriammahiques.blogspot.com/2010/05/new-orleans-and-art-of-corpse.html