Alex residents live in fear after 61-year-old woman falls into sinkhole
A sudden collapse outside Nokwanda Ndike’s home on 7th Avenue swallowed the 61-year-old into a sinkhole. Though she survived with minor injuries, residents fear more incidents could occur as the rainy season intensifies.
As heavy storms continue to lash Alexandra and streams of water flood its streets, families living at Number 4, 7th Avenue fear their area could face further flooding and possibly new sinkholes. Ward 108 councillor Deborah Francisco has warned that their homes are built over a stream — an area never intended for housing.
Their fears intensified last month when 61–year–old resident Nokwanda Ndike survived a fall into a deep sinkhole that had been steadily growing outside her home.
Read more: 61-year-old Alex woman survives fall into sinkhole
“I don’t know what happened. I just found myself inside the sinkhole. I screamed for help,” she recalled. “I hit my head and my leg. They called an ambulance and took me to the hospital. I was told I was not badly injured.”
Residents said they had long been aware of the danger. Ndike admitted she had always been nervous walking past the hole. Her son, Unathi, said the cavity had been expanding for months. What began as a small hole eventually grew into a gaping sinkhole.
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According to Unathi, the warning signs had been visible for some time. A neighbouring house now stands abandoned after its occupant left, citing cracks beneath the door and cement that appeared to be caving in.
“We know it is not safe, but we have nowhere else to go. We are afraid. We have small children, and we are always worried when they play outside,” said a 48–year–old neighbour who asked not to be named.
While Ndike survived with minor injuries, despite falling through the concrete opening onto hard pipes, residents fear that if they are not moved to a safer location, the worst may still happen.
Francisco sympathised with the family but stressed that the area was never meant for residential development. “It’s a tributary [stream]; it is not a place where houses were supposed to be built,” she said.
She added that similar cases had been reported in the past, with some residents removed from houses built over a stream along 8th Avenue. “Unfortunately, development has taken place in areas that are not meant for housing, and this has created a lot of challenges,” she said.
With the rainy season underway, residents fear conditions will only deteriorate. Many say their greatest wish is to be relocated to safer ground.
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