How to enjoy a disaster movie when I don't feel the connection to any of the characters, but the movie relies on me feeling something?

Since the disaster happened relatively fast, I didn't have enough time to get to know the characters. They all were just nameless random people to me. I didn't care about the mains more than any other background person running away. Will they die? Will they survive? Who knows? But also, who cares?

The political aspects just frustrated me to the bone. Since various terms and procedures had to be explained to the viewers via narration, everyone making the important decisions about the disaster looked incompetent - everything had to be explained. The president was spineless until the plot decided it was time for him to act the role. The same "miraculous change" happened to the main hero, who was first to try to leave and then out of a blue first one to try to save others. The "development" of the characters just happened in between scenes, and there was no nice and logical progression.

The acting from the main cast was good, but some of the supporting actors could tone down the over dramatic acting a bit.

Overall, a nice movie to play as a background as you do other daily activities. Far too long for what it presents and offers.