In February 2009, Australia was griped by a record-breaking heat wave and sparked bushfires that killed 173 people and destroyed more than 1800 homes. Victoria's bushfires is the deadliest natural disaster in Australian history.
A bushfire approaches the town of Labertouche, 90km (56 miles) east of Melbourne, February 7, 2009. Aircraft dropped water bombs on raging Australian bush fires and homes went up in flames as a once-in-a-century heat wave sent temperatures in Melbourne to their highest on record. Australian bush fires killed 14 people in the southern state of Victoria on Saturday, police and local media said.[Xinhua]