THE worst storm in decades has lashed Brisbane, Australia's third largest city, with wind, rain and hail cutting power lines, flooding streets and injuring a dozen people.
State-owned electricity supplier Energex said up to 90,000 homes had been without power, with trees and hundreds of power lines brought down by winds. The storm struck during the Thursday afternoon rush hour, trapping commuters for hours in stalled electric trains.
High rise windows were smashed, light planes flipped upside down on an airfield and cars almost completely submerged in flooded streets while people also had to dodge huge hailstones.
Queensland state premier Campbell Newman described the storm as the worst to hit the city of 2.2 million people since 1985. He said 12 people had been injured.
The convention centre that hosted President Barack Obama and other world leaders at the G20 summit two weeks ago suffered hail and water damage and the army was called in to help.
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