Families threatened by sinkhole left in limbo

Locals are fearful they could be buried alive as they wait for the metro’s intervention in the growing sinkhole threatening to swallow their homes.

September 5, 2022

Fanie Mthupha 3 minutes read

Concerned residents said it is just a matter of time before many shacks in the vicinity of the hole are swallowed by the sinkhole.

Nearly nine months have gone by since a gaping hole opened up beneath people’s homes in the Angelo informal settlement and the about 30 affected families are growing frustrated at what they see as a lack of government intervention.

Residents recalled how some of their neighbours were nearly swallowed by the hole after they had their belongings and some of their shacks’ corrugated iron sheets swallowed by the hole.

The Boksburg Advertiser previously reported that people living in the area heard a crash on the night of December 6 and saw the ground underneath some of the shacks had collapsed and swallowed some of the residents’ belongings and threatened to swallow up their shacks too.

This desperate chicken fell into the sinkhole that opened beneath shacks in the area.

The giant sinkholes, believed to be a mineshaft, opened up under a couple of shacks. This forced the occupants to flee their homes to find refuge with neighbouring friends, and leaving those who remained in the vicinity of the hole fearful that their homes could also collapse as they wait for authorities to intervene.
Despite the potential risk, according to residents, to date, no work is being done to evacuate the affected families or mitigate the danger posed by the hole.

Fearful
Duduzile Ndlela, one of the residents who live in a shack near the furrowing hole that has already forced other families to flee the area, said she feared their homes would collapse or be swallowed by the sinkhole.

Duduzile Ndlela is among the residents who are living in fear because of this sinkhole threatening to swallow her home. She told the Advertiser that during the night there is a lot of noise and shaking, as a result of the sinkhole next to their homes.

“We are worried every day that our homes could disappear anytime due to the growing sinkhole. The ground has visible cracks approaching our shacks and during the night we are hearing a rumbling noise coming from the hole. We are fearing the worst with the expected summer rains when the soil becomes saturated.
“No one is answering our questions and we don’t know who to turn to for help. It’s like our government is just waiting for the worst to happen before they can take the matter seriously,” said Ndlela.

Ticking time bomb
One of the community leaders, Jerry Masilela, described the situation as a ticking time bomb. He pointed out that when this sinkhole started the width was about the size of a light car, but has since then been growing at a rapid pace, threatening the stability of many homes in the vicinity.

Residents lambast the municipality for ‘delayed’ processes to evacuate homes within metres of the growing sinkhole.

“The municipality was notified and I thought this is a matter that they would have given priority because of the hazard it poses to the affected residents. But it looks like it is not enough for them to fast-track the process to move the affected people to a safer place while they pursue a long-term solution,” said Masilela.

Masilela explained that after the metro was notified, several officials visited the area to carry out inspections. This left residents with the hope that the affected families may be assisted soon. But, until today, nothing has been done.
“They instead kept coming back to check the hole and leave.”

Homeowners at the site said the informal settlement has known sections that have land subsidence problems due to previous mining activities, but when the affected shacks were built decades ago, there was nothing there at all that showed there was a shaft.
The Advertiser has reached out to the metro for answers, but the metro has not responded yet.

In December last year, William Ntladi, of DEMS, confirmed officials from his department were at the scene to assess the situation. They found the sinkhole poses a risk to about 30 families, including those who live next to the hole. He said the relevant departments were in talks to relocate the affected families to a safer area as soon as possible.

Angelo informal residents remain fearful after some of the shacks and people’s belongings disappeared into this sinkhole.

Some of the shacks on the brink of collapsing into the ground are already deserted.

No work is being done to evacuate families living in the vicinity of this sinkhole.

Katlehong sinkhole triggers ‘swift’ response from MMC
The City of Ekurhuleni, on August 26, announced that the MMC for City Planning, Heather Hart is working around the clock to reconstruct the residents’ houses that were damaged by the sinkholes which opened up in Katlehong.

The sinkholes, which have seen residents’ houses incurring damages, were first reported to the metro in 2019.
As part of the city’s Back-to-Basics Service Delivery Friday program, the MMC conducted a site visit to monitor the progress of reconstructing the affected houses and was reportedly pleased by the progress made in accelerating the reconstruction of the houses.

“As the multi-party coalition government, we are determined to serve our residents. We have set aside a sufficient budget to reconstruct the houses that were affected by sinkholes in Katlehong,” said Hart.

Also Read: Metro investigates giant ‘sinkhole’