--- description: Thousands of residents in Queensland, Australia have been left without power after the worst storm in decades battered Brisbane on Thursday. title: Brisbane Reeling After Storm image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee5d2da71c6b56e1/69876b6ccd1bba75c26f3cc4/australia-storm_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Australia](/tag/australia/) ## Australia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Worst Storm in Decades Smashes Into Brisbane Causing Widespread Damage by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 28, 2014 7:22 AM CUT  James Marriott surveys the damage in his roofless apartment, Nov. 28, 2014, in the inner city suburb of Toowong in Brisbane, Australia, after a severe thunderstorm swept through the city Thursday. James Marriott surveys the damage in his roofless apartment, Nov. 28, 2014, in the inner city suburb of Toowong in Brisbane, Australia, after a severe thunderstorm swept through the city Thursday.Dan Peled—AP by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 28, 2014 7:22 AM CUT Thousands of residents of Queensland, Australia, have been left without power after the worst [storm](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-28/brisbane-storms-68000-residents-still-without-power/5924112 "undefined") in decades battered the state capital Brisbane on Thursday. Golf-ball sized hailstones and winds of up to 90 mph tore roofs from buildings and brought down 642 power lines, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). “We had to run to get out of there, the speed of the hailstones were like bullets,” resident John Arthur told the ABC. “The place looked like a warzone.” A huge cleanup operation is now underway with state-owned electricity supplier Energex working to restore power to 90,000 homes and emergency service crews clearing up debris left in the storm’s wake. “\[Saturday\] will be a big day … lots of volunteers from SES and Rural Fire Service will be out … I estimate by end of tomorrow a large part of the recovery side will be done,” said Neil Gallant, acting deputy commissioner of Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. Twelve people were injured during Thursday’s supercell storm but thankfully there were no fatalities. “I’m astounded but so grateful that that is all that we’ve got given the amount of shrapnel flying around last night,” said Campbell Newman, the Premier of Queensland. The state’s transport minister estimated the damage would cost more than $85 million to repair. \[[_ABC_](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-28/brisbane-storms-68000-residents-still-without-power/5924112 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3609259/worst-storm-in-decades-smashes-into-brisbane-causing-widespread-damage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3609259/worst-storm-in-decades-smashes-into-brisbane-causing-widespread-damage/"},"headline":"Worst Storm in Decades Smashes Into Brisbane Causing Widespread Damage","datePublished":"2014-11-28T07:22:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:26:13.545Z","description":"Conditions in places were equivalent to a category 2 cyclone","url":"https://time.com/3609259/worst-storm-in-decades-smashes-into-brisbane-causing-widespread-damage/","keywords":["Australia","storm","Power","natural disaster","damage"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee5d2da71c6b56e1/69876b6ccd1bba75c26f3cc4/australia-storm_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee5d2da71c6b56e1/69876b6ccd1bba75c26f3cc4/australia-storm_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Australia Storm","caption":"Australia Storm","creditText":"Dan Peled—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/australia/","name":"Australia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3609259/worst-storm-in-decades-smashes-into-brisbane-causing-widespread-damage/","name":"Worst Storm in Decades Smashes Into Brisbane Causing Widespread Damage"}}]}] ```