Ecstatic Australian farmer celebrates torrential rainfall after 18 months on his drought-struck farm

Australia was graced with its first significant rainfall after months of drought and wildfires yesterday. The torrential downpours brought much-needed relief to firefighters battling the worst blazes the country has seen in decades and was celebrated by civilians across the nation. Heartwarming videos posted online portray just how desperately residents of drought-hit areas were in need of some respite from their plight, with their unbridled joy and relief felt by netizens across the world. One such video tugging at the heartstrings of the internet features an ecstatic Australian farmer welcoming the rain on his farm in New South Wales following 18 months of drought.

The video that was shared on Reddit, shows the farmer running out into the rain and showing off the downfall on his brown farm. Unable to contain his excitement, he takes off his cap and looks up at the sky as rain falls down on his face. "Send it down. Let's get wet," he yells out, panning the camera to show the puddles scattered around his property and a herd of cows enjoying the downpour. "My cows – here’s some rain to give you some feed," he can be heard enthusiastically telling his cows.

According to CNN, while forecasters predict more rain over the next few days, they are concerned about the possibility of flash flooding in areas of parched land. Some areas have been left so dry by years of drought that the soil fails to absorb the rain and water simply runs off the ground. Furthermore, the situation is made worse by the absence of vegetation in most areas that have been affected by the massive fires. The rain could wash ash and debris in waterways and cause trees weakened by the bushfires to fall, said authorities.

The Victoria Bureau of Meteorology revealed on Thursday that parts of Melbourne being hit with as much as 77 millimeters (3 inches) of rain has caused some flooding and subsequent damage. In fact, some neighborhoods are said to have been hit by a month's worth of rain in just a matter of hours and lightning from the thunderstorms sparked a number of new grass fires in New South Wales and Victoria.

While the rain brings with it its own set of issues and dangers, having battled relentless massive flames for months, Australians are overjoyed to finally have some relief from the devastating bushfires. According to Daily Mail, the torrential downpours helped extinguish 32 bushfires in New South Wales, bringing down the number of blazes fell from 120 to 88 on Thursday morning. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service took to Twitter to celebrate the rain, tweeting, Relief is here for a number of firefighters working across NSW. Although this rain won’t extinguish all fires, it will certainly go a long way towards containment.