Victoria Bushfire Emergencies Ease but Death Toll on the Rise

The bushfire emergencies in Victoria appear to have eased with cooler weather conditions but the death toll has risen to more than 90 and there were fears of more deaths yet to be reported.

(By 8am, February 9, local time, it was reported that the death toll had risen above 100.)

At least two Victoria towns — Marysville and Kinglake — were reported to have been wiped out by the bushfires.

This week's Victorian bushfires have exacted a toll greater than those of the Black Friday fires of 1939 and Ash Wednesday in 1983.

More than 70 people died in Victoria's 1939 Black Friday fires, and 75 in 1983's Ash Wednesday bushfires which raged through areas of Victoria and South Australia.