The senior citizen who sustained multiple injuries after eight houses collapsed on S. Feliciano Street, Barangay Mapulang  Lupa, Valenzuela, on Sunday, Sept. 3, died on Monday morning, Sept. 4, the local government confirmed.

The local government said the fatality, Reynaldo Maraya, 65, who has been bed-ridden, died due to a rib fracture following the fall of the eight establishments in the area. He was first reported to have sustained multiple abrasions in the head, left leg and arm, as well as pain in the pelvic area.

It added that Maraya was brought to the Valenzuela Medical Center and was later transferred to the Philippine Orthopedic Hospital for medical treatment. He died on Monday morning.

Based on the rapid virtual assessment conducted by the City Office of the Building Official, the incident  happened after the soil in the area eroded due to heavy rainfall.

On Monday, Valenzuela City Mayor Weslie “Wes” Gatchalian convened a meeting with concerned city departments to discuss the incident which affected around 28 families or 113 individuals. Thy are temporarily sheltered in the city’s evacuation sites.

The families were evacuated to the Mapulang Lupa 3S Center and the old Barangay Ugong Hall. They were given hot meals and disaster response kits.

The City Social Welfare and Development Department also distributed sleeping, kitchen and hygiene kit, groceries and food packs to the victims. 

Gatchalian visited the sites on Sunday to check the situation of the affected families.

He also conducted an inspection in the area where the eight houses collapsed at around 12 noon on Monday, the city government said.

The city government said that the affected area was already declared dangerous as per the recommendation of the OBO. It was cordoned by the authorities.

The OBO also recommended the relocation of the families while census mapping and survey for expanded areas identified to be high-risk after the soil erosion was also conducted on Monday.

Ten identified house owners will be relocated to the Disiplina Village Lingunan within the week.

Authorities also held clearing operations on the collapsed structure to prevent the affected residents from coming back.

According to the mayor, the families who were identified as renters of houses in the area will each receive P10,000 financial aid.

The mayor assured that they city will provide help to the affected families.

“Katuwang po ninyo ang ating Pamahalaang Lungsod sa pagbangon sa hamon na ito (The City Government is with you in recovering from this challenge) ,” he said in a Facebook post.

He also met with officials of  the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and asked them to provide financial assistance to the affected families.