desolates

verb

make (a place) appear bleakly empty.

the droughts that desolated the dry plains

devastate,ravage,ruin,make/leave desolate,leave in ruins,destroy,wreck,lay waste to,wreak havoc on,level,raze,demolish,wipe out,obliterate,annihilate,gut,depopulate,empty,depredate,spoliate