What was the only thing that mattered (according to the article/memoir, "Comprehending the Calamity?" See text passage below:

"After a half-hour we came up to our flat to take an inventory of the situation. I walked over the remains of my choicest china, porcelain, and cut-glass, without a feeling of regret or a sigh or tear. Everything seemed so insignificant, and the world so far away. That is, the world we had lived in. All estimates of value were annihilated. Human life seemed the only thing worth consideration.
The spirals of smoke now began to ascend from various places in the business section, and we realized how completely we were at the mercy of fire, with the broken water-mains, and reservoirs perhaps destroyed. The gas and water had been cut off immediately to most of our homes. The power-houses were down and the electricity gone too."

Human life

Money

Homes

Nothing

According to the passage, the only thing that mattered according to the "Comprehending the Calamity" memoir was human life.

According to the passage, the only thing that mattered was human life.

According to the passage, the only thing that mattered in the aftermath of the calamity was human life. The author mentions that after seeing the destruction around them, the significance of material possessions like china, porcelain, and cut-glass seemed insignificant. All estimates of value were annihilated, implying that the concept of material wealth lost its importance in the face of the disaster. What remained important was the consideration of human life. The passage also mentions the loss of basic necessities like gas, water, and electricity, further emphasizing the value placed on preserving human life rather than material possessions.