7 Confirmed Fatalities And 2 Still Unaccounted For After Australia's Yuletide Weather Chaos

Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy and togetherness, but this year’s festive season brought tragedy and grief to parts of Australia ravaged by severe storms.

The death toll rose to 7 by December 27, with two still missing in Queensland. Torrential rain and ferocious winds have wreaked havoc, flooding homes and sweeping people away.

The storms first claimed a life in Queensland on December 26 when a tree fell on a 59-year-old woman.

By the next day, the state saw another 3 fatalities - a distressing one being a 9-year-old girl in Brisbane, whose body was found in stormwater drains after an extensive search. Her grieving family from Rochedale South urged privacy to mourn their devastating loss.

Elsewhere in Queensland, two people died, and two remained missing after a boat capsizing incident in Moreton Bay that sent 8 to the hospital. The search had found one deceased by midnight when it was reluctantly suspended.