CANBERRA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd paid a visit to his home city of Brisbane on Tuesday after his return from the G20 summit in Washington D.C., and likened the storm-damaged city and nearby area to a war zone.

　　Four thousand homes have been damaged, including 300 with serious damage and 30 rendered unlivable. About 8,000 homes are still without power, as the Army, emergency services officers and a contingent of low-risk prisoners clean-up the worst hit areas in Brisbane's north and west, the Gold Coast and Logan.

　　"You can just begin to get a sense of how this would affect people's state of mind, their sense of well-being," Australian Associated Press quoted Rudd as saying.

　　"This is a real assault on the soul, this storm, and the families it has affected," he added.

　　The prime minister said what mattered now was what happened next. "That's what's really important when people are trying to put their lives back together," he said.

　　Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the disaster was "unparalleled" and it took time before the full extent of the damage was realized.

　　"If you go back to Sunday night the power was out, streets were dark, there were 560 cables down across the greater Brisbane area, the mobile phone network was affected and landlines were also out in this area," he said.

　　Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said on Tuesday the federal, state and local governments were pulling together but it was clearer sources had been "overwhelmed" when the extent of the damage was first realized.