Australian fire damage cost rises

More than 160 homes have been destroyed

The cost of the bush fires around Sydney is now thought to have risen to 70m Australian dollars ($36m, £25m) and is likely to increase even further, insurers have said.

In the past week, more than 100 fires have broken out in New South Wales, destroying more than 160 homes, and about 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres) of bush.

On Monday insurers had estimated the costs of the fires at about 50m Australian dollars.

But now the Insurance Disaster Response Organisation (IDRO) says the destruction of several more homes and businesses will push the level of claims higher.

"Several large commercial claims and expected losses from homes destroyed overnight have boosted estimated insurance costs for the New South Wales (NSW) bushfires to A$70 million," the IDRO said.

Cost set to rise further

More than 2,000 claims have been received so far, and this number is expected to rise when people return to their homes after the holiday period.

The estimated cost of the fires is now higher than the 1994 bushfires around Sydney, which led to 3,500 claims costing 56m Australian dollars.

But there is still a long way to go until the cost reaches that of the 1997 hailstorm, which led to payouts totalling 1.7bn Australian dollars.

Australia's four main banks have launched disaster relief programmes for victims of the recent fires, cutting interest rates on loans for people rebuilding their homes.

Firefighters have continued to battle against the flames, even pumping water from swimming pools in an attempt to protect properties.

But they are being hampered in their efforts by the hot weather, together with strong winds which are fanning the flames.