Many still unaccounted for in Australia fires: Police

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian police said many people remained unaccounted for on Monday but no deaths had yet been recorded in fire-ravaged Tasmania state, as the rest of the nation braced for a dangerous heatwave.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard toured the shaken southern island, where more than 100 homes were razed in catastrophic heat and wind conditions by fast-moving blazes that continued to burn across the state.

Tasmanian police said they had searched 245 properties in the worst-hit areas by Monday morning including 90 badly damaged or destroyed buildings.

"The preliminary screening search has discovered no deceased people at this stage," police said.