Many people in rural communities across New South Wales and Victoria have spent the day surveying the damage to their properties and coming to terms with the task of rebuilding their lives.

Let's look at which towns have been devastated, show you where they are and what the people there have endured via first-hand accounts.

Mallacoota, Victoria

Mallacoota is where most of the dreadful New Year's Eve news kicked off as the town woke to blackened skies.

It was still dark at 9:30am and later in the day the sky changed to a terrifying red as holidaymakers who could not make it out before it was too late to leave huddled on the beach or on the town's jetty. When the wind changed later in the day and the conditions were safer, a cheer went up from those on that pier.

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Business-owner Mark Peters described the devastating scenes in Mallacoota where several homes and structures were lost. He sheltered by the water as fires approached the township yesterday and has since returned to town to find his property reduced to rubble.

"It's been totally flattened … it looks like a warzone," Mr Peters told RN Breakfast. "All the houses around me are gone. There's probably 15 houses in the street, probably 6 of them survived.

Sarsfield, Victoria

The isolated rural town in East Gippsland, on the Great Alpine Road, has a recorded population of little over 600 residents.

Bushfires ripped through the township on Tuesday afternoon leaving twisted metal and gutted buildings behind. The local school was completely destroyed by the fire.

A local police sergeant, Graham Shenton, told a harrowing story of survival and he knew he was extremely lucky after opting to defend his property — a decision he later described as "stupid".

"The sky dropped down, it was like fire falling out of the sky and it lit up everything between me and the river, and everything burned," Sergeant Shelton told the ABC. "Everything you think you know about fire, when it comes, it just makes its own mind up."

Corryong and Cudgewa, Victoria

The towns, which are 10 minutes apart, were both left decimated by a firefront on New Year's Eve. The total combined population sits at around 1,500 with Corryong the much bigger of the two towns near the NSW border.

The area is still one where details of what happened are the most scarce, but was described in a second-hand account as a disaster zone.

Shalee Gherbaz said she had spoken to her brother in Corryong, who described the town as "an absolute mess". "Fires are everywhere but the town was standing strong," Ms Gherbaz said.

Batemans Bay, NSW

Located on the New South Wales South Coast, the area is especially busy at Christmas time when many Sydneysiders head south to take vacations, whether they be at holiday homes or camping. The area is usually home to over 16,000 people but it swells over holiday periods. Batemans Bay is also a haven for wildlife.

Batemans Bay came under siege as a ring of fire surrounded the area in the early afternoon. Residents and holiday-makers took refuge on local beaches and flames could be seen rising high on the opposite point in truly terrifying scenes.

"There's no internet, we cannot access the RFS website and I know everyone is doing their absolute best but we have no information," Karen Freer, who was on holiday from Canberra, said on Tuesday. "We don't know where the fire is … we just don't know the current situation."

When the dust settled on New Year's Day the scene was one of catastrophic damage with hundreds of properties destroyed and at least one person unaccounted for.

Conjola Park, NSW

The small, idyllic inlet lies just 18 kilometres to the north of regional centre Ulladulla and is popular with campers, fishermen and surfers due to the great conditions for all three pursuits.

Fire ripped through the area late on New Year's Eve and, in the town, it left a trail of destruction. Eighty-nine properties were lost in the small area and harrowing tales have emerged.

Lake Conjola resident Karen Lissa told the ABC she thought she would die.

"You just go through all these emotions," she said. "You think 'I'm gonna die'. "We're lucky. Just really grateful that we're alive and we've got our house. I've never seen this. So many homes lost, this is devastating."

A man also lost his life in the area. His body found in a burnt-out car near Lake Conjola, just off the Princes Highway.

Cobargo, NSW

The town of Cobargo is a historic village of nearly 800 people near Bega, in the south of New South Wales.

In short, scenes of horror and devastation rocked the tiny community on New Years Eve when fire tore through the town early on Tuesday morning.

A woman found her husband Robert Salway and her son Patrick Salway dead after they had tried in vain to protect the family home. The main street was destroyed and, at the end of the day, Patrick Salway's wife Renee posted a touching tribute on social media.

"I love you now, I love you still, I always have and always will," she wrote. "I will see you again Patrick, my best friend. Hope you are up there 'fixing things in the stars tonight'. Love forever, Harley & me."

Mogo, NSW

The picturesque town, inland of Batemans Bay, is arguably most famous for its zoo, which used to house some white lion cubs.

The battle to save the zoo was won as staff fought the flames themselves, while the zoo's director Chad Staples took smaller animals home to his house to keep them safe.

As the fire raged they put the large animals in the safest parts of the zoo and were able to not only save the property but also make sure not a single animal lost its life. Mr Staples described the conditions as "apocalyptic" but felt he and staff were able to defend the zoo because they enacted their fire defence plan.

"It felt like Armageddon a few hours ago," Mr Staples told the ABC.

Others were not so lucky. The zoo survived but the town itself was stripped bare as much of the main street was razed to the ground, unable to avoid the ferocious flames.