The worst hail storm to hit Brisbane in a generation has been declared a catastrophe by insurers and prompted the Queensland government to call in the military to help clean up the damage.
Residents left counting the costs had already begun work in darkness overnight.
The half-hour squall on Thursday afternoon – dumping up to 70mm of rain and hail as big as tennis balls – punched holes in glass skyscrapers, lifted apartment block roofs and shattered windows in thousands of properties and cars across the city.
The Queensland premier, Campbell Newman, told ABC radio the storm was “probably the worst to hit city as a whole since 1985”.
Newman said 39 people called ambulances during the storm, but only 12 patients were taken to hospital and none had life-threatening injuries.
Malena Salinas came home to find the wreckage of the roof from her three storey unit block in Toowong on the street in front of her.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
