DEATH TOLL FROM SAVAGE BUSHFIRES LEAPS TO 173

MELBOURNE, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- The death toll from the Victoria fires leapt
to 173 overnight as authorities found bodies clustered together where people
fleeing the flames or trying to save their homes had been overwhelmed.

Twenty-four fires were still burning early Tuesday morning and towns
remained under threat as authorities moved deeper into the ruins of those
communities hit in the fire's first wave, when more than 700 homes were lost,
the Herald Sun online reports.

Bushfire relief funds were receiving A$1 million in donations an hour
Monday, with A$15 million pledged by last night.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Victorian Premier John Brumby have
vowed to rebuild the razed communities, but as the toll mounts the grim fates of
many of their people are becoming clearer.

Thirty-five people died in the small town of Kinglake alone, while 22 deaths
had been confirmed in St Andrews out of a population of just 1500.

Strathewen, with only 200 people before the bushfires, had lost 30 residents
in the last official count.
-- BERNAMA