FACTBOX - Australia's worst natural disasters

(Reuters) - Australian bushfires that killed at least 84 people near Melbourne at the weekend rank among the country's deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

Here is a list of Australia's deadliest natural disasters, as chronicled by official Web sites:*

CYCLONE MAHINA, 1899: struck Cape York in the country's far north, causing the greatest death toll of any natural disaster in Australia's recorded history. More than 400 people died, including the crews of about 100 pearling fleet vessels, and an estimated 100 local Aborigines.

GUNDAGAI FLOODS, 1852: killed 89 of the southern rural town's 250 inhabitants. More people would have died were it not for the heroism of local Aborigine Yarri and his friend Jackie who saved more than 40 people using a bark canoe.

ASH WEDNESDAY BUSHFIRES, 1983: Fires erupted across Victoria and South Australia states, killing 75 people, including 12 volunteer firefighters. More than 2,000 houses were destroyed in Victoria and several hundred more in South Australia.

BLACK FRIDAY BUSHFIRES, 1939: Fires broke out in Victoria state, burning almost 2 million hectares (20,000 square km) and killing 71 people. Whole townships were destroyed, prompting a landmark inquiry that led to measures being taken to protect life and property in the event of future bushfires.

CYCLONE TRACY, 1974: struck the northern city of Darwin on Christmas Eve, flattening the city and killing 64 people and injuring many thousands. More than half of Darwin's population of 43,000 was left homeless.

TASMANIA BUSHFIRES, 1967: fire ripped through 264,000 hectares of forest on the southern island of Tasmania in just five hours, killing 62 people and destroying 1,400 homes.

* Sources:

The Australian government's culture ministry (here

s); The Victoria state government's environment ministry (here

c061ca256d960014420d8ac9c23269fa53b4ca256dab0027ecc4); The Country Fire Authority of Victoria (here

eet-ashwednesday.pdf)