desolating

(verb) leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch. Synonyms: abandon, forsake, desolate, desert. Example: "The mother deserted her children."

(verb) reduce in population. Synonyms: depopulate, desolate. Example: "The epidemic depopulated the countryside."

(verb) cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly. Synonyms: lay waste to, waste, devastate, desolate, ravage, scourge. Example: "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion."