My heart goes out to (someone)

This is an expression which shows your sympathy for people who are in pain or in trouble. It means "I feel sorry for them." For example, you can say this about people who have lost their homes in a disaster:

My heart goes out to all the folks in Missouri whose homes have been damaged in the flood.

This is an expression that people use in public situations like in front of a church group, on social networking sites, in emails, and so on. In face-to-face communication, you can say something like:

I feel so sorry for all those people!

the victims of (a disaster)

"Victims" are people that something bad happens to. Here are some things that people can be "victims" of:

• a robbery
• murder
• bullying
• a tornado
• a flood

a tragic event

A "tragic event" is an event in which people are killed or hurt. Natural disasters, murders, and terrorist attacks are all "tragic events".

When you say that something is "a tragic event", you sound concerned but not personally affected by it. You might call something that affects you more personally "a horrible event" or "a horrible tragedy".