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.

A volunteer army waded through stinking mud and drenched homes today in a massive clean-up operation as floodwaters receded in Australia’s third-largest city.

DEADLY floods in Australia’s third-biggest city were peaking below the levels Brisbane had feared, but the state premier said they would require a reconstruction effort of “post-war proportions”.