Durban - Emergency services in Durban are on high alert as torrential rain batters the city on Sunday.

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In the early hours of Sunday morning, a man was rescued by police officers after a shack collapsed.

Police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane said officers responded to the scene and found that a mud wall had collapsed onto a shack below it on a slope.

It is understood that members of the community had already begun ferreting between the mud and debris and had found the man pinned under a piece of corrugated iron.

“We can confirm that the Search and Rescue Unit went to Umlazi attending a complaint of a house that collapsed. They managed to rescue a man who was trapped inside and he was taken to hospital,” he said.

A police source with knowledge of the recue said that officers had been called out to several structural collapses and were monitoring the situation closely.

Rescuecare spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said ambulances had responded to several motor vehicle collisions, and attributed these largely to the inclement weather.

“We have responded to several accidents this morning and we are urging motorists to drive responsively in the wet weather,” he said.

He said additional emergency units had been placed on standby to deal with the high volume of emergencies.