FIRES that may have been deliberately lit in Victoria in recent days amount to mass murder, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.
A clearly shaken Mr Rudd said the nation should brace itself for the full impact of the bushfires, where 108 people have died, 750 homes have been lost and entire towns have been wiped out, The HeraldSun and AAP report.
"What do you say about anyone like that - there are no words to describe it other than mass murder," Mr Rudd said.
"The nation should brace itself for a very challenging time ahead."
He said Australia had become used to disasters affecting Australians overseas, such as the Bali bombings, but now tragedy had struck on a large scale at home.
"This is of a level of horror that few of us anticipated," he said.
"The practical challenge is to provide the hand and heart of human friendship."
Authorities have warned the number of fatalities is likely to rise even further.
Firefighters have worked through the night to battle 31 fires across scorched Victoria.
At least 750 homes have been destroyed and more than 330,000ha burnt out, while authorities said some fires could take weeks to contain.
A Country Fire Authority spokesman said the five fires at Beechworth, Churchill, Murrindindi, the Kinglake complex and Bunyip are causing the most concern.
According to police figures, another 11 people were found dead at Kinglake West, north of Melbourne, taking that community's toll to 20 while another four bodies were found at Marysville taking that town's toll to eight.
- HeraldSun and AAP
