Storm Cuts Power, Lifts Roofs in Australian City

Brisbane: Brisbane, Australia's third-largest city, was lashed by its worst storm in decades, with wind, rain and hail lifting roofs, cutting power lines, flooding streets and injuring a dozen people, officials said.

State-owned electricity supplier Energex said on Friday that up to 90,000 homes had been without power, with trees and hundreds of power lines brought down by winds gusting at 140 kph (87 mph). By Friday morning, 68,000 homes remained blacked out.

The storm struck on late Thursday afternoon, trapping commuters for hours in stalled electric trains. Television news broadcasts showed downtown high-rise windows smashed, light planes flipped upside down on an airfield and cars almost completely submerged in flooded streets.

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.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the convention center that hosted President Barack Obama and other world leaders at the G-20 summit two weeks ago had sustained hail and water damage.

The army was called in to help emergency crews remove fallen trees on Friday morning.