Wichita Falls Devastating Drought. En Route To A Ghost Town?

Wichita Falls, Texas, is in its worst drought on record.

Alan: The following story of Witchita Falls' ongoing desiccation -- told by city manager, Darron Leiker -- is, for me, the spookiest account of stateside climate change yet. Friends in the scientific community tell me that droughts across the American southwest and the southern half of California   -- soon to be made permanent by climate change -- will result in catastrophic conditions for human inhabitants. But this tale of what is happening right now in Witchita Falls gave me a jolt. It appears that the political and economic hub of a vast stretch of "heartland America" is "on deck" to become a ghost town.

Audio File: http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/07/09/wichita-falls-drought

Wichita Falls, Texas, is in its worst drought on record – worse than the dustbowl days of the ’50s.

It started in 2010, and climatologists don’t see it letting up any time soon.

As city manager Darron Leiker explains, the city has taken a series of aggressive measures to cope.

Guest

• Darron Leiker, city manager of Wichita Falls.