Video, pics: Sinkholes swallowing Khutsong force residents out of their homes

Residents of Khutsong in Carletonville, west of Gauteng, are living in fear, thanks to the worrying sinkhole situation.

Some residents have been forced to move out of their houses to go and seek shelter from their neighbours as cracks on their houses are visible both in the inside and the outside.

Several houses have been damaged beyond repair, with the only thing visible being broken bricks and other infrastructure left in deep holes.

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#Sinkholes : Several residents of Khutsong, #carletonville have been forced to #vacate their homes as sinkholes swallow their houses. #fyp

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The situation poses a serious safety threat to many residents who say they can’t even sleep peacefully at night, fearing they might just sink into a deep hole.

‘We won’t move’

One resident who has been residing in Khutsong since the late 1950s, Rebecca Makgale, says they (residents) have grown tired of the lack of action from government to assist them get out of this scary situation.

“We have been complaining and crying ever since but it seems as if our cries have fell on deaf ears,” said Makgale.

Expressing her and other residents’ safety concerns while standing next to an electrical cable of which the pole had long since fallen into one of the sinkholes next a busy street, Makgale said the only time they heard from authorities was when they were told that there were plans to relocate them.

“Yes, some residents have already been relocated but when you look at the houses where government is relocating residents to, the houses there are way smaller, meaning we have to now leave our houses which we spent lot of money on building over the years.

“Government must just make a plan to come and fill up these sinkholes because some of us are not prepared to leave our homes. We’d rather be swallowed up by these sinkholes,” the 80-year-old Makgale said.

Just like Makgale, many residents have in the past vowed not to relocate to another area.

ALSO READ: Khutsong families won’t budge even though sinkholes may swallow up their homes

People falling into holes in the street

Besides having concerns about sinking into the holes while in their homes, residents have also raised concerns about the dangers of just walking down the streets of the township, as another resident Martha Thekiso explains.

 Khutsong resident Rebecca Makgale next to one of the sinkholes. Photo: Nigel Sibanda

 One of the sinkholes at Khutsong in the West Rand of Johannesburg, 17 October 2022. Photo: Nigel Sibanda

 One of the houses abandoned by residents of Khutsong in the West Rand of Johannesburg, because their houses are being swallowed up by sinkholes. Picture: Nigel Sibanda

 Picture: Nigel Sibanda

“Just last week, one man who was walking on the street fell into one of the sinkholes and he was only helped a few hours later.

“We just heard screams and when we moved closer to the sinkhole, that’s when we found the man who had fallen inside the sinkhole. This situation here is really scary,” said Thekiso.

Another resident, Annie Motlhabane, further relayed the story:

“We could not even see the man and we had to call for help until officials from the local Fire Department arrived and that’s when they used their lights to try and locate the man, only to find him very deep in the hole.

“The man was injured and he could not even walk as he looked dizzy. Something urgent really needs to be done by government to assist us as residents of Khutsong, as we are constantly living in fear,” Motlhabane said.

With the predicted above normal rainfall season fast approaching for the north-eastern parts of the country, including for Gauteng, residents are even more worried.

ALSO READ: Another wet spring and summer on the cards for some parts of SA

Leaking infrastructure, poor drainage exacerbating natural problem

According to the Council for Geoscience, a large part of South Africa is underlain by dolomite, which is a rock type prone to cause the occurrence of sinkholes wherever there is a suitable trigger.

“In the past, since the middle 1950’s, the greater far West Rand had been one of the most affected areas, but in recent times, the Tshwane and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan areas are increasingly affected by sinkhole occurrences as well.

“Most of the historical sinkholes that occurred in the far West Rand, and the greater Carletonville region were mainly as a result of dewatering of groundwater compartments, especially during the 1950s to the late 1980s,” Mahlatse Mononela from the council said.

Mononela said more recently the majority of the sinkholes observed are due to water ingress problems, typically leaking wet infrastructure and poor storm water drainage.

According to Mononela, sinkhole occurrences can be managed to a large extent, however, this requires the active and dedicated implementation of risk management measures and commitment to continuously undertake these actions for as long as there are infrastructure, communities, and development on dolomitic areas.

“Solutions typically include permissible land use and pre-development planning (where there are no existing development), maintaining serviceability of infrastructure to the extent that it is free from leaks, including the systematic upgrading of old infrastructure to be compliant with current building standards on dolomite.

“Since the prevention of sinkhole disasters cannot be guaranteed with absolute certainty, once these events do occur, well-established methods of appropriate rehabilitation exist to fix damages and repair the ground,” Mononela said.

Gauteng the country’s sinkhole capital

To date, the Council for Geoscience recorded approximately 3 800 sinkhole occurrences across the country, some spanning back to the early 1900s.

“Not all sinkholes that the CGS has on record are currently open, some have been repaired in the past.

 Picture: Nigel Sibanda

 Picture: Nigel Sibanda

 Picture: Nigel Sibanda

 One of the sinkholes at Khutsong in the West Rand of Johannesburg, 17 October 2022. Picture: Nigel Sibanda

“Local Authorities and State Entities responsible for infrastructure should be in a better position to comment on the current status of open and repaired sinkholes in their respective areas of responsibility,” Mononela added.

The bulk of the sinkhole occurrences in South Africa are currently across the Gauteng province, mainly due to the vast extent of development on dolomitic areas.

ALSO READ: ‘Massive sinkhole’ throttles N1 Centurion traffic

Plans for relocation underway

When contacted for comment, spokesperson for the Gauteng provincial Department of Human Settlements and Infrastructure Tahir Sema said the Khutsong Resettlement Housing project, which has a total yield of 18 000 units, is earmarked for mixed housing development and aimed at relocating all people residing on dolomitic land in the area.

“The first phase of 5 500 houses was completed by 2012 and allocated to beneficiaries from Khutsong old township.

“341 houses were completed for phase 2 and phase 3 will yield 753 houses, already serviced,” said Sema.

Sema said 3 187 households have been affected as per the enumeration conducted in Khutsong old township in 2020.

He said the formation of sinkholes is ongoing and that it should be noted that as and when a new formation occurs, the same intervention of relocation will be required.

“The local municipality has provided temporary accommodation for displaced people around Khutsong and Carletonville,” Sema added.