SYDNEY, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australian firefighters on Tuesday used cool weather to attempt to contain the blazes that have claimed 23 lives, burnt over 6 million hectares and destroyed at least 1,700 properties so far this season.
The recent cooler, rainier weather provided firefighters a "psychological and emotional" relief as they were using the "more favorable conditions" to strengthen containment lines around the blazes, said Rural Fire Service of the fire-scorched New South Wales state.
However, officials said the rain is not heavy enough to extinguish the blazes. Temperatures will soar again by Friday, and huge blazes are still expected, said Bureau of Meteorology of the Victoria state.
According to the Insurance Council of Australia, the estimated damage of the fires doubled on Tuesday, with insurance claims reaching 700 million Australian dollars (485 million U.S. dollars).
The estimate came one day after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the establishment of a new government agency, specifically tasked with rebuilding communities and infrastructure in the wake of the fires, and the allocation of an extra 2 billion Australian dollars (1.38 billion U.S. dollars), a figure which is expected to grow if necessary.
