Giving Compass' Take:

• As wildfires in Australia spread and the death toll rises, the government will not change it's climate policy and believes that climate change is only one of the factors creating these fires.

• How are donors able to offer support to these communities that are trapped? What does government support for them look like?

• Read about disaster relief and recovery.

Thousands of people in Australia have been forced to flee their homes as wildfires spread, with some taking refuge on beaches after the flames blocked their escape routes.

In Australia's most populous state of New South Wales, authorities said two people had died and one person was unaccounted for, while in the neighboring state of Victoria, four people were unaccounted for on Tuesday morning. The fatalities brought the death toll to at least 11 people, including three firefighters.

Wildfires across Australia have been burning for more than two months, with the ones in New South Wales labelled by fire authorities the worst in the state's history.

People in the affected areas took shelter on beaches, or moved from rural areas to evacuation centers in larger towns. In Mallacoota—one of the worst affected areas—thousands of people took shelter on the beach, at a community center or in boats offshore in Eastern Victoria, where the sky turned a vivid red and black as the fire approached.

Last week, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologized for holidaying in Hawaii during the nation's deadly bushfire crisis but insisted his government would not be panicked into changing its climate policy.

Morrison, whose government is a staunch supporter of the coal industry, has acknowledged there is a link between climate change and the unprecedented bushfire emergency sweeping the nation. But he said climate change was just one of many factors responsible for the fires and rejected calls for his government to take stronger action to cut greenhouse gas emissions. He accused some opponents of using the disaster to score political points.

"What we will not do is act in a knee-jerk or crisis or panicked mode. A panic approach and response to anything does not help. It puts people at risk ... people can expect my government to do what it promised to do," he said on Dec. 22.

Read the full article about Australia's bush fires by Primrose Riordan at InsideClimate News.