 While Domoina was moving through South Africa , it drew an area of moisture from the northeast , which produced heavy rainfall that peaked at 950 mm ( 37 in ) between Richards Bay and <unk> Bay . <unk> of over 700 mm ( 28 in ) were reported along the upper Umfolozi , <unk> , Pongola and middle <unk> and <unk> rivers , and along the upper and lower <unk> river . Precipitation spread as far south as Durban , but did not penetrate far into the center of the country . An area of about 107 @,@ 000 km2 ( 41 @,@ 000 sq mi ) received 370 mm ( 15 in ) of rainfall . Along the Umfolozi River , a discharge rate of 16 @,@ 000 m ³ / s ( 565 @,@ 000 ft ³ / s ) was recorded , which was three times the rate of a 100 year flood . The river <unk> , or changed its course , near where it met with the <unk> River . High rains in the mountains caused the largest flood to date along the Pongola River . The floodplain downstream of the Pongolapoort Dam was inundated to where the Pongola met the <unk> River , which filled many pans – dry lakes – in the region . Along 29 river locations in eastern South Africa , river heights were estimated to have been 1 in 50 year events . The river flooding moved sediment along many banks , and in one location the sediment reached 10 km ( 6 @.@ 2 mi ) in length . Due to the widespread flooding and the <unk> of the worst affected areas , there were minimal measurements on the river flow along the Pongola , although above the Pongolapoort dam , levels reached 13 @,@ 000 m ³ / s ( 460 @,@ 000 ft ³ / s ) , which were 18 times higher than the previous record highest . There had been a planned release of water from the Pongolapoort Dam in March 1984 to provide adequate water to the floodplain , but Domoina prevented this from occurring . The dam had its highest hydrology on January 31 and reached 87 % of its capacity . Waters from the dam were released on February 2 to prevent the dam from exceeding capacity . With the future threat of Cyclone <unk> , dam levels continued to drop until returning to normal by February 16 , despite requests to hold the water to prevent further crop damage . 
