Australian authorities urged people to remain alert on Monday as wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes, killed cattle and forced hundreds of residents to flee continued to burn out of control in the southeast of the country.
No deaths or serious injuries were reported as of Monday morning, but the bushfires have caused extensive damage in rural areas of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). At least 75 homes had been destroyed, authorities said.
"We can't be 100 percent sure that everybody is accounted for ... but each one of those homes that have been affected by fire will need to be looked at and just confirm that," NSW Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers told Australian Broadcasting Corp.