The federal and Victorian governments have set up a Bushfire Relief Fund and $10 million in Centrelink payments for victims.
"Tonight our resolve as Victorians is being tested," Victorian Premier John Brumby said in an address to the state.
"We know that tragically many lives have been lost ... and we have grave concerns for many more. We know that hundreds of Victorians have lost their houses. Out there it has been Hell on Earth.
"It is one of the most tragic events in Victoria's history. I am personally devastated by the tragedy. The scale of the tragedy defies comprehension.
"We all grieve with you. So many families, families like yours and mine, now have to rebuild. I can promise that we will not stop until you are safe and your lives and communities have been rebuilt."
The worst-hit areas are Kinglake, where at least 18 have died, St Andrews (12 lives lost), and Steeles Creek (seven dead).
Five people are dead in Callignee and Flowervale, three in Hazelwood, Whittlesea and Taggerty, and one in Jeeralang. More bodies have been found at Marysville, Humevale, Bendigo, Long Gully, Strathewan and Arthurs Creek.
Seventy-five people died in Victoria and New South Wales during the February 1983 Ash Wednesday fires.