Heavy rain has battered large parts of Durban since Thursday night, leaving in its wake fallen trees, waterlogged roads and a minibus taxi trapped in a sinkhole.

Images of the taxi in Earl Haig Road, Morningside, have been widely circulated on social media platforms, and motorists have been warned by emergency services to exercise caution on the roads.

The eThekwini municipality advised residents that the wet weather was expected to continue for most of Friday.

“According to the SA Weather Service, it is expected to clear over the weekend,” it said.

“No major incidents have been reported. Road users are urged to be cautious, particularly on roads being repaired or rebuilt.

“We are aware of a sinkhole on Earl Haig Road in Morningside. Our teams are attending to it. There are also fallen trees in some areas. These are being attended to.”

Garrith Jamieson of ALS Paramedics said a number of accidents were reported on Friday morning.

Nazir Sadack of Community Emergency Response Team, which operates in areas north of Durban, told TimesLIVE: “I'm still waiting for reports on whether there have been any washaways at the informal settlements.

“There has been debris and sand washaways on roads, especially in Seatides. There are a couple of branches that have fallen onto the roads, but nothing serious. We have been fortunate.”

In Phoenix, north of the city, several roads were flooded on Thursday night, hampering travel in and out of the suburb and leaving drivers stranded.

Main Road in Pinetown, west of Durban, was also flooded.

Inland, in the Drakensberg, Sani Pass received its first snowfall of the season.

Snow Report SA said on its Facebook page: “As per our forecast, there is snow at the top of Sani Pass, as you can see from our cameras at Sani Mountain Escape, home to the highest pub in Africa. We don't know yet how far down the pass but will post once we know more.”

TimesLIVE