Kinglake(Australia), February 8: Atleast 93 people were killed and entire towns razed in the worst wildfire disaster in Australian history, described by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Sunday as "hell in all its fury".
People died in their cares as they attempted to escape the inferno - smouldering wrecks on roads outside this town told a tale of horror while others were burnt to death in their homes.
While the deadly fires and a heatwave raged in southeast Australia, floods from torrential rains claimed lives in the north, with one victim a five-year-old boy feared snatched by a crocodile as he walked his dog.
The death toll from the fires jumped from 84 to 96 early on Monday, the Australian Associated Press said, quoting the police. However, the figure was later revised to 93.
But there were fears it could rise yet as medics treated badly burned survivors and emergency crews made it through to more than 700 houses destroyed by the fires, some of which have been blamed on arsonists.
Thousands of survivors jammed community halls, schools and other makeshift accommodation as troops and firefighters battled to control huge blazes fed by tinder-box conditions after an intense heatwave.
The fires have affected nearly 3,000 sq.km. an area nearly three times the size of Hong Kong.
"Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours," Mr. Rudd told reporters, deploying army units to help 3,000 firefighters battling the flames.
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