 Near the South Africa border with Swaziland , flooding stranded about 80 @,@ 000 people on tribal lands . One road in the country was converted into a makeshift landing strip to allow helicopters and planes to drop off emergency supplies . A period of heavy rain flooded Umfolozi River , which destroyed a rail bridge near <unk> and a bridge crossing highway <unk> . The floods were so strong that they washed a boat from Lake St. Lucia to a point 16 km ( 9 @.@ 9 mi ) away . At the lake , the floods washed away a dredge and severely damaged a nearly @-@ finished canal from the lake to the Umfolozi River . Widespread crop damage occurred along the Umfolozi river plains after being covered by up to 1 m ( 3 @.@ 3 ft ) of sediment . The South African Weather Bureau considered Domoina as the " first tropical cyclone in recent history to have caused flooding and extensive damage . " Nationwide , the storm caused 60 deaths and damaged the properties of 500 @,@ 000 people , causing <unk> million ( 1984 <unk> , $ 70 million 1984 USD ) . 
