The combined effects of the preceding floods and Eline left about 329,000 people displaced or homeless, killed around 700 people, and caused an estimated $500 million (USD) in damage. The flooding disrupted much of the economic progress Mozambique had made in the 1990s since the end of its civil war. Elsewhere in Southern Africa, Eline brought strong winds and heavy rainfall when it crossed into eastern Zimbabwe. Rivers overflowed their banks in the country, damaging crops and houses while leaving 15,000 people homeless. The storm killed 12 people in the country. Flooding from the storm extended southward into Swaziland and South Africa. In the latter country, Eline dropped of rainfall in Levubu over three days, causing the Limpopo River to reach its highest level in 15 years. Officials opened dams along the river to prevent structural damage, which caused higher levels along the river to the east. At least 21 people died in the country, and about 80,000 people were left homeless. Damage in Limpopo Province alone was estimated at $300 million (USD). To the north, Eline dropped about of rainfall in southern Malawi, while gusty winds caused a power outage in Blantyre. Farther west, rainfall rates of were reported in Botswana. Meteorological history The origins of Cyclone Leon–Eline were from a surge of energy within the monsoon trough that crossed the equator from the northwest, which spawned a low pressure area on February 1 in the eastern Indian Ocean, about 250 km (155 mi) south of the Indonesian island of Bali. Associated convection, or thunderstorms, was initially sparse due to wind shear in the region. Over the next few days, the low tracked west-southwestward without much development, moving around a large ridge over northwestern Australia. An anticyclone over the system provided outflow, allowing convection to increase despite the wind shear. At 22:00 UTC on February 3, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) upgraded the tropical low to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian tropical cyclone scale, estimating 10‑minute sustained winds of 65 km/h (40 mph). At 04:00 UTC the next day, the BoM named the storm Tropical Cyclone Leon. On the same day at 03:00 UTC, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began issuing advisories on the storm as Tropical Cyclone 11S. Around that time, Leon was located about 215 km (130 mi) south-southeast of Christmas Island, moving west-southwestward. With decreasing wind shear, the convection organized into rainbands,