STORIES of yesterday afternoon's severe storm in Brisbane are emerging during a city-wide clean up mission.
The super storm cell bombarded Brisbane with 140 kilometre an hour wind, hail and rain during the late afternoon.
At her home in Woolloongabba, south Brisbane, during the peak of the storm, Queensland Country Life journalist Kate Stark filmed a compelling clip of the deluge.
"By the time I thought to get out my phone-cam, I knew I was safe, but as I say in the video, I have never seen anything like that in my life," she said.
"When I played the footage back I was shocked at the intensity of the sound and what I saw through the garage door."
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has described events as "the biggest storm that has hit Brisbane since 1985."
Mr Newman requested assistance from the Australian Defence Force, after contacting Defence Minister David Johnston just after 6pm on Thursday night "and indicated that I thought we had a big problem here".
After speaking to the Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, who had been in contact with the State Emergency Service, Mr Newman made his formal request at 7.30pm.
Personnel from the Enoggera barracks were deployed across Brisbane at 10pm to provide assistance to SES and emergency service workers, clearing debris so the repairs could begin.
"The belief at this stage is it is bigger than The Gap storm (which hit Brisbane in 2008 and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage), I think that is safe to say," Mr Newman said.
At 9.30pm, 88,000 homes across the region were without power, with more than 400 power lines down.
Many will take at least 24 hours to repair.
Water supply issues had been identified in Bracken Ridge, Kelvin Grove and Seventeen Mile Rocks, with authorities mobilising to get bottled water out to the affected suburbs.
Mr Newman said the latest information he received suggested Brisbane's south had been hit particularly hard, naming Annerley as one of the suburbs to have suffered the most damage.
Like many residents, Ms Stark was left with broken windows and an ongoing clean-up job to deal with.
Mr Newman urged people to stay inside and away from the damaged areas, allow the authorities to clear the debris and begin repairs without the threat of additional injuries.
He also asked people to check on their neighbours, particularly the vulnerable or those with medical conditions.
- With Amy Remeikis, The Brisbane Times.
