Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said fires that may have been deliberately lit in recent days amount to mass murder.
A clearly shaken Mr Rudd said the nation should brace itself for the full impact of the bushfires.
"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"
I'm praying everyone in Melbourne can get through this time of mass destruction.
