Cosmo,
One final point, is that I think Hawking is saying that God is moot because science explains everything, thus God is not involved, he is 'dead' in effect or at least absent.
The point about a hurricane striking Los Angeles or any of billions of other everyday events, being unpredictable, is that, it is therefore impossible to say that our understanding of the laws of science is so great as to make God moot. Scientists may doubt that God answers prayers, they cannot prove that He doesn't. Science and religion can and do coexist, they each have their role in our society.