One person died in bushfires in the Australian state of Victoria which burned an area slightly larger than Rhode Island.
A body was found about 100 meters from a vehicle near the town of Gobur, affected by the fire, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of the capital, Melbourne, Victoria Police said Sunday. The person has not yet been officially identified.
Previously, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan reported there were 32 active fires across the state, including 10 major fires. In total, 350,000 hectares (1,350 square miles) have burned, he added.
“We are still far from the worst,” Allan declared at a press conference. “Several of these large fires, the complex fires, will remain active for several weeks.”
The state and federal governments also announced an initial support package of US$13 million, For those affected by the fires, that have destroyed more than 300 buildings, including dozens of homes.
Victoria, hit by the worst fires in Australia’s history in 2009, has a long history of catastrophic wildfires. Authorities warned that the situation could deteriorate further in some areas, even as heat wave conditions ease.
