☭ marselip0910 叶俊华™

At least 84 people have been killed so far over the past two days in what has officially become Australia's deadliest bushfires disaster, police said on Sunday.

As of Sunday night, at least 750 homes had been destroyed in the bushfire ravaged state of Victoria and more than 330,000 hectares burned out while authorities said some fires could take weeks to contain.

"Hell and all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters in the fire-ravaged Yarra Valley, according to a report by the Australian Associated Press.

"This is an appalling tragedy for Victoria but, because of that, it's an appalling tragedy for the nation," he said.

Some towns were entirely wiped out while some other villages and towns in the north of Victoria were still under threat on Sunday night, almost 36 hours after the first fires were sparked by record heat and winds Saturday morning.

Authorities believed that some of the blazes were deliberately lit, and police said that arsonists could face murder charges and a maximum 25 years in prison.























據澳大利亞警方證實，截至當地時間8日22時，澳南部維多利亞州森林大火造成的死亡人數已升至84人，成為澳大利亞歷史上人員傷亡最嚴重的火災之一。

警方說，最嚴重的是維多利亞州北部地方。由於高溫乾旱、風勢強勁，火勢難以控制，死亡人數還可能繼續上升。到目前為止，維多利亞州受災面積達到３３萬公頃，750多所房屋被毀。災情最嚴重的是距離墨爾本以北80公里的金萊克地區，這裡一些市鎮被整個毀掉，共有550多所房屋被燒毀，63人死亡，受災面積超過22萬公頃。

澳總理陸克文8日飛抵墨爾本並視察了災區。他表示，這次發生的森林大火是一場極具破壞性的災難，奪去了很多生命和財產，但政府已經部署好緊急救援工作。

陸克文還宣佈將啟動聯邦災難應急計畫，與州政府聯合撥款1000萬澳幣（約合650萬美元）用於災民的救助工作。

近兩天來，澳南部維多利亞州先後有20多處發生森林火災，面積大、災情重。警方曾多次表示，部分火災是人為縱火所致。警方說，這些縱火犯一旦被緝拿歸案，將受到嚴懲。

另外，在澳東南部的新南威爾士州，也有數十處地方出現火災，但到目前為止尚未造成人員傷亡。