image: Agence France Presse via BBC News
The bushfires that have been sweeping the Australian state of Victoria over the weekend have claimed over 180 lives, according to the latest estimates. This number is likely to go up as rescue workers find more bodies amid the rubble of burned-out communities. In addition to the dead, over five hundred have been injured and thousands displaced. The fires have destroyed over 900,000 acres, or 1400 square miles. The cost in property loss is unknown, but likely to be very high. To see eyewitness accounts and pictures of the devastation, visit the BBC at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/asia_pacific/2009/australia_fires/default.stm.
CNN quotes Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as saying, "The seventh of February will become etched in our national memory as a day of disaster, of death and of mourning." The Salvation Army has raised over one million dollars in aid for refugees from the flames.
Sources: BBC, AFP, CNN
CNN quotes Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as saying, "The seventh of February will become etched in our national memory as a day of disaster, of death and of mourning." The Salvation Army has raised over one million dollars in aid for refugees from the flames.
Sources: BBC, AFP, CNN
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