Communities devastated by a bushfire that has claimed one life are beginning recovery efforts as blazes continue to burn across Victoria.

Two major fires are expected to burn for weeks, including the Longwood blaze in the state’s north.

Cooler conditions could offer some relief to firefighting efforts, but for many small communities, the damage has already been done.

Police confirmed on Sunday that human remains had been found near a fire-affected road at Gobur, a remote area east of Seymour.

The remains are yet to be identified, but were discovered 100 metres from a car.

The fire-affected patch was scorched when the roaring Longwood fire moved through on Friday.

Paddocks are littered with the remains of animals and livestock that did not make it to safety.

Ruffy Country Fire Authority Captain George Noye said half of the small town’s residents had lost either their homes or a structure.

The local primary school is also unrecognisable after being burned to the ground.

The gate to the Ruffy primary school which has been burnt to the ground. Photo: AAP

“It’s unbelievable how wide this fire is. Many people left early,” Noye said.

“It could have been a lot worse with the conditions that we had.”

The Longwood fire has covered about 136,000 hectares since it started amid catastrophic conditions.

The fire is still burning as crews work to clear roads so assistance and relief can flow.

More than 350,000 hectares have burned and more than 300 properties have been lost in the state after summer heatwaves spurred out-of-control bushfires.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan visited the regional town of Bendigo on Sunday, where they announced funding relief for residents hit hard by the fires.

Residents in communities most impacted by the bushfires can claim a one-off disaster recovery payment of $1000 for each adult and $400 per child as part of a $19.5 million package.

A $10 million program to help distribute fodder to farmers in need will be rolled out as part of the package.

Anthony Albanese, Jacinta Allan and federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain in Harcourt. Photo: AAP

The leaders also visited the small community of Harcourt, where they witnessed the devastation firsthand.

At least 50 homes and structures have been lost to the fire, which continues to burn.

A state of emergency has been declared for 18 local government areas.

Several emergency-level blazes were dotted across the state but firefighting efforts were concentrated on a huge blaze in Victoria’s centre and another in the northeast, near the NSW border.

Ex-cyclone havoc

Repairs are under way after a tropical cyclone battered the far north coast, but forecasters warn the threat is not over as Queensland braces for more devastating floods.

After days of intense build-up, ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji ran out of power as it crossed the Queensland coast, downgraded to a tropical low.

Cyclone warnings have been cancelled, but residents in the far north still face the threat of major flooding as heavy rain continues to pummel the region.

Thousands were without power as authorities worked around the clock to restore electricity to affected areas.

As the economic costs of the twin disaster continued to rise, Premier David Crisafulli was confident Queenslanders could handle whatever came their way.

“There are stages of an event like this – first there’s the wind, then it’s rain, and then there’s the flood,” he said on Sunday.

“We have seen the wind that’s started to dissipate … we’ve seen large amounts of rain with more to come, and then there’s the prospect of flooding.

“Queenslanders will handle that. They always, always do.”

Warnings have been issued for heavy rain along the central Queensland coast, with falls expected to continue into Monday.

Some areas could cop isolated totals of up to 340 millimetres in 24 hours across saturated catchments, the weather bureau said.

Flood watches remain for the Channel Country after the monsoon earlier devastated Queensland’s north-west, isolating towns and properties.

The mammoth clean-up has barely begun, with conservative estimates of more than 45,000 livestock missing or dead.

“We will continue to watch and see the impact that the system could have – the last thing we want to see is more rainfall in areas that have copped more than a year’s supply in less than a week,” Crisafulli said.

Fodder drops continue, and authorities are stockpiling antibiotics and veterinary supplies to treat surviving stock and combat infection.

“The economic impact for western Queensland, because of how important agriculture is to underpin those communities, will be large,” Crisafulli said.

“We’re doing everything we can to spare as many cattle as possible and help those primary producers.”

Flood warnings are current for catchments including Herbert, Upper Burdekin, Lower Burdekin, Haughton, Ross, Bohle, Don, Proserpine, Pioneer, Lower Flinders, Norman, Gilbert, Georgina and Eyre, Diamantina and Thomson.

-AAP