Victoria bushfires LIVE updates: Homes destroyed as devastating fires rip through iconic Aussie tourist hotspot, with temperatures set to top 50C today – and experts warn: ‘It will only get worse’

Heatwave conditions are set to continue across inland regions of south-east Australia through Wednesday.

Emergency services are expecting another four days of above 40C temperatures and overnight temperatures in the mid-20s in the north of the state.

Severe heatwave warnings have also been issued for Mallee, Wimmera, Northern Country, East Gippsland, West and South Gippsland and the North Central.

Severe heat is also expected to hit parts of NSW and Queensland, with the outback town Thargomindah in Queensland forecast to reach 49C.

The Bureau of Meteorology said severe heatwave conditions were expected to peak on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a slight easing into the weekend.

In NSW, the BoM issued an extreme heatwave warning for the Snowy Mountains, South West Slopes and the Upper Western.

The towns of Tibooburra, Ivanhoe and Wilcannia are predicted to get up to 48C.

A Total Fire Ban has also been declared for the Central Ranges, NSW, on Wednesday due to the forecast hot, dry and windy conditions.

Residents in some areas of the Otways, in southern Victoria, have been ordered to evacuate as bushfires ravage the region.

A blaze near Colac has now claimed 11,300 hectares and destroyed at least buildings.

‘When it is safe to do so, assessments will get underway in the fire grounds,’ a spokesman from the State Control Centre told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘The fire broke further containment lines on Tuesday during that southwesterly change. There were 70km/h winds forecast, which have eased overnight.’

Barwon Water also warned that, due to bushfire damage, the Gellibrand water treatment plant is unable to continue to supply water to Gellibrand, near the Colac fire in the Otways.

This means that by Wednesday there will be no tap water available in Gellibrand, and the remaining water remains unsafe to drink.

It comes as firefighters from every Australian state and territory, as well as teams from Canada and New Zealand, have been brought to Victoria to fight more than a dozen blazes.