The disaster is still in its infancy ... Australia's fires are getting worse and the next may be worse

Forest fires raged in southern Australia today, Thursday, amid a heat wave threatening to exacerbate the crisis, while officials warned that some areas may be "still at the beginning" of the devastating disaster.

The number of victims of raging fires in Australia's forests has risen to 27, amid an extended disaster and continued evictions.

The authorities cautioned that the number could increase with the renewal of fires in Victoria and New South Wales, and that it might continue in the next few months.

Evacuation orders were issued in the south and east of the country, while the Australian Ministry of Finance announced allocating $ 1 billion to boost infrastructure in the affected areas.

For its part, the state of Victoria - which destroyed forest fires in large parts of it - extended the state of disasters before an expected activity during the next two days of major fires, requiring residents in the fire areas to leave.

Dangerous conditions
Victoria State President Daniel Andrews said that the authorities expect very dangerous conditions, and there is likely to be a high level of firefighting of 23 fires across the state.

"We are facing a very serious situation in the next 12, 24 and 36 hours," said state fire commissioner Andrew Crisp.

Forest fires destroyed more than two thousand homes and came to about eight million hectares (80,000 square kilometers) of land, an area equal to that of Ireland.

Scientists say droughts are fueled by climate change, which in turn exacerbates fires.

The Prime Minister of Victoria called on the citizens to prepare to face more devastation in the crisis that has been going on for months. "We are only at the beginning of what will be a very difficult summer," he said.

Despite the low temperatures and rain in some areas affected by the fires this week, 150 fires are still burning in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, the most crowded in the vast continent.

Some areas in Victoria state Friday face the risk of "severe" fires, while some areas are expected to witness "harsh" weather conditions.

In some of the areas that have caught fire, people are rebuilding their homes and returning to a normal life in a process that is expected to take years.

Losses and damages
On Thursday, New South Wales State announced the allocation of A $ 1.2 billion ($ 680 million) for infrastructure work in the devastated areas, and this added to A $ 2 billion ($ 1.4 billion) for a relief fund for affected communities.

In addition to human losses, the fires have caused extensive environmental damage, and scientists at the University of Sydney estimated that a billion animals have died in the fires, and this includes mammals, birds and reptiles, not frogs, insects or invertebrates.

The toxic smoke from the fires covered the skies of major cities in Australia, raising health concerns.

And smoke crossed a distance of more than 12 thousand km to Brazil and Argentina, according to meteorological agencies in both countries.

Australia recorded the warmest and drier year of 2019, and the average maximum temperature in mid-December was 41.9 degrees Celsius.