Drought in Australia was so severe that in April, Prime Minister John Howard told Australians they needed to pray for rain. If the rain didn’t come, he would have to cut off irrigation for the Murray-Darling river basin, Australia’s most productive farmland.

The threat sent shockwaves through the country. To Australians, Howard halting irrigation of the Murray-Darling agricultural basin was akin to pharaoh banning irrigation from the Nile.

The usually fertile Murray-Darling basin is Australia’s largest river system, covering more than 1 million square kilometers—over four times the size of the United Kingdom. It produces 40 percent of Australia‘s agricultural output, holding half the nation’s sheep, a quarter of its cattle, and three quarters of all irrigated land. Its rivers also supply drinking water for more than a million people in the South Australian state capital of Adelaide.

As it turned out, the situation was somewhat relieved when rains began to fall. But in parched southeast Australia, this quickly turned into a curse. On June 27, scattered showers turned into two days of torrential downpours. In Victoria, rivers burst their banks as a kilometer-wide river of muddy floodwater engulfed farms and towns, forcing hundreds of people to abandon homes and businesses.

The floods are the worst Victoria has seen in 37 years, Premier Steve Bracks said. They are cruel punishment for communities already suffering from the country’s worst drought on record and severe wildfires that tore through the state earlier in the year.

For much of the rest of Australia, although the recent rains are a relief, much more is needed to end the drought. Farm production is expected to dip 20 percent, to the lowest level in nearly 10 years. It could take up to five years for the farming sector to recover, according to Australian Treasurer Peter Costello.

When national leaders like Prime Minister Howard point the nation to God in prayer, it is a step in the right direction. But until people genuinely turn to God and obey His law, all the praying in the world will not fix problems with the weather.

For the real reason behind weather disasters, read “The Cause of Weather Crises.”