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The ruins of St Andrews church in Kinglake, northeast of Melbourne - Source: Reuters -
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Weary firefighters and rescuers pulled the remains of dozens of
people from charred buildings as the toll from Australia's
deadliest bushfires rose to 173.
"Everybody's gone. Everybody's gone. Everybody. Their houses are
gone. They're all dead in the houses there. Everybody's dead,"
cried survivor Christopher Harvey as he walked through the town of
Kinglake, where most people were killed.
Police believe some of the fires, which razed rural towns near the
country's second biggest city, Melbourne, were deliberately lit and
declared one devastated town a crime scene.
"There are no words to describe it other than mass murder," Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd earlier told local television. "These numbers
(of dead) are numbing."
The bushfires are the country's worst natural disaster in more than
a century, and will put pressure on Rudd to deliver a broad new
climate policy.
One massive bushfire tore through several towns in the southern
state of Victoria on Saturday night, destroying everything in its
path. Many people died in cars trying to flee and others were
killed huddled in their homes, yet some escaped by jumping into
swimming pools or farm reservoirs.
The inferno was as tall as a four-storey building at one stage and
was sparking spot fires 40 km ahead of itself as the strong winds
blew hot embers in its path.
"It's going to look like Hiroshima, I tell you. It's going to look
like a nuclear bomb. There are animals dead all over the road,"
said Harvey.
More than 750 houses were destroyed and some 78 people, with
serious burns and injuries, are in hospital.
Many patients had burns to more than 30% of their bodies and some
injuries were worse than the Bali bombings in 2002, said one doctor
at a hospital emergency department.
In Canberra, lawmakers fought back tears as they suspended
parliament for the day after expressing condolences to the victims
on behalf of the stunned nation.
"It is the beauty and the wonder of our country," National Party
leader Warren Truss said. "It can also be harsh and cruel. How can
these idyllic landscapes also become killing fields?"
Climate change policy
Wildfires are a natural annual event in Australia, but this year a
combination of scorching weather, drought and tinder-dry bush has
created prime conditions.
The fires, and major floods in Queensland state in the north, will
put pressure on Rudd, who is due to deliver a new climate policy in
May. Green politicians are citing the extreme weather to back a
tougher climate policy.
Adding to the nation's grief, authorities in northern Queensland
searched unsuccessfully for a five-year-old boy who they believe
was killed by a crocodile when he chased his pet dog into the
flooded Daintree River.
Scientists say Australia, with its harsh environment, is set to be
one of the nations most affected by climate change.
"Continued increases in greenhouse gases will lead to further
warming and drier conditions in southern Australia, so the (fire)
risks are likely to slightly worsen," said Kevin Hennessy at the
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Centre
(CSIRO).
The Victorian bushfire tragedy is the worst natural disaster in
Australia in 110 years. In 1899, Cyclone Mahina struck Australia's
northern Cape York, killing more than 400.
Pleas for missing
Thousands of firefighters continued to battle the main fires and
scores of other blazes across Victoria on Monday, as well as fires
in neighbouring New South Wales state.
While cooler, calmer conditions helped firefighters, 10 major fires
remained out of control in Victoria. But the week-long heatwave
that triggered the inferno was over.
The fires burnt out more than 330,000 ha of mostly bushland in
Victoria, but a number of vineyards in the Yarra Valley were also
destroyed. The Insurance Council of Australia said it was too early
to estimate the bill.
The small town of Marysville was sealed off by police as forensic
scientists searched through the rubble for evidence.
As dawn broke in the town of Whittlesea, near Kinglake, shocked
residents wandered the streets, some crying, searching for loved
ones still missing.
"The last anyone saw of them, the kids were running in the house,
they were blocked in the house," cried Sam Gents, who had not heard
from his wife Tina and three children, aged six, 13 and 15, since
the fire swept through Kinglake.
"If they let me up the mountain I know where to go (to try and find
them)," Gents sobbed. Police sealed off Kinglake, where at least 35
died, because bodies were still being recovered.
Handwritten notes pinned to a board in the Whittlesea evacuation
centre told the same sad story, with desperate pleas from people
for missing family and friends to contact them.
Rudd said it would take years to rebuild the devastated towns and
has announced a A$10 million aid package. He has also called in the
army to help erect emergency shelter.
The previous worst bushfire tragedy in Australia was in 1983, when
75 people were killed.
Click here to find out how you can donate to
victims of the Australian bush fires
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