Fact Check: Did DOGE cut funding for a USAID-NASA flood warning program in Nepal?
WASHINGTON, DC: A claim circulating online has accused the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of cutting funding in early 2025 for a US Agency for International Development (USAID) and NASA program that provided flood warnings in Nepal.
The claim gained attention after Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported on August 31 that at least 939 people had died and 3,925 remained missing after flash floods struck the Nepal-China border five days earlier.
Claim: Trump admin's DOGE cut down funding for USAID and NAGA program
A Facebook user who shared the claim after the deadly floods in Nepal wrote, “DOGE hunted federal grants for the word 'climate' and defunded whatever came up. One of the things that came up was a USAID and NASA satellite program that mapped dangerous glacial lakes, predicted floods, and ran early warning systems across the globe.”
The user added, “Including Nepal. Last week, a glacier collapsed above the Nepal-China border, and the flood killed over 270 people. More than 2000 are still missing. Elon Musk said he spent that weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
Similar claims have also circulated on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X. The claim gained attention after Jeremy Konyndyk, a former USAID official who served under Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, posted about the SERVIR program on X.
SERVIR was a joint USAID and NASA initiative that previously operated in Nepal. Konyndyk said the program supported “flood prediction, early warning, disaster readiness, glacier inventories, and mapping dangerous glacial lakes.”
Konyndyk claimed that DOGE cut the SERVIR program in Nepal while dismantling USAID. The SERVIR program's website says the initiative “concluded in January 2025,” but it does not explain why it ended. The program ended around the same time President Trump and his then-adviser Elon Musk said they planned to shut down USAID.
Fact Check: The claim is misleading
The claim is misleading. According to a list of USAID funding cuts that Politico reported DOGE sent to Congress in March 2025, the department cut funding for several SERVIR programs.
The list included the SERVIR program for the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, which covers Nepal, on page 135.
A State Department spokesperson told Snopes by email on September 1, 2026, that the US continues to support Nepal’s flood warning efforts despite the end of the SERVIR program.
The department currently supports two programs focused on improving Nepal’s ability to warn people about floods and respond to disasters.
One project helps Nepal’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Service develop and operate flash flood warning systems as part of a broader program covering 70 countries.
Another initiative connects the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology to “strengthen early warning for rapid and effective disaster response.”
However, it remains unclear how these programs affected Nepal’s preparation for or response to the August 2026 floods. It is also unclear how much US funding the programs receive.
The spokesperson also clarified that SERVIR was “not an end-to-end flood early warning system.” Instead, the program provided satellite data and decision-support tools that supported Nepal’s national forecasting system.
