Devastation
Part of speech: noun
Definition: The act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste. Waste of the goods of the deceased by an executor or administrator.
Example sentence: Fragile economies and weak infrastructures tend to worsen the results of climate disruptions, a problem exemplified by Bangladesh's vulnerability to monsoons, accelerating desertification in northern China, and, most visibly, Hurricane Katrina's devastation in New Orleans.
Desolation
Part of speech: noun
Definition: The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation.The state of being desolated or laid waste; ruin; solitariness; destitution; gloominess.A place or country wasted and forsaken.
Example sentence: A week of sweeping fogs has passed over and given me a strange sense of exile and desolation. I walk round the island nearly every day, yet I can see nothing anywhere but a mass of wet rock, a strip of surf, and then a tumult of waves.