Airbnb to provide Vic emergency housing

Victoria's premier has signed a deal with Airbnb in California to provide housing for Victorians and emergency workers during natural disasters.

In the event of an emergency or natural disaster, Airbnb will make contact with accommodation hosts within its network in Victoria who wish to provide accommodation for affected residents or emergency service workers, the state government said on Saturday.

"What this partnership with Airbnb does is connect people who are willing and able to help with those who are in their greatest hour of need," Premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement from the US.

Victoria currently has about 10,000 Airbnb listings, many of them offered in regional and bushfire-prone areas.