Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday that authorities will provide some $2 billion within the next two years for restoration and reimbursement from the disastrous bushfires. Morrison stressed that the sum is not final, adding that further funds may be allocated if needed. according to Reuters.
Last week, Australian authorities launched evacuations in Victoria state, where some 45 bush fires area blazing. Some 4,000 residents in the region were reported forced to immediately leave their homes.
The fires - kicked off in November - have been the result of severe drought and record-setting temperatures in Australia, local media said, citing meteorologists.
Wildlife experts have been demanding urgent action to save the remaining habitats of koalas and avoid the extinction of the species.
Currently, over 10 percent of the area covered by national parks in the state of New South Wales, including 20 percent of the UNESCO-designated Blue Mountains, have been decimated by bushfires.