Warning systems for floods, hurricanes, and famine are suffering from Donald Trump’s data purge 

Within weeks of President Trump stepping into office, key health and environmental resources that doctors and farmers rely on started disappearing from federal websites. Trump was also quick to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID), cutting off funding - as well as the flow of data that people around the world use to prevent famine and issue warnings ahead of natural disasters.

"As we all watched the websites being pulled down, as we all watched data disappearing, we were all concerned - because that's truth. There's truth in data," says a former contractor who was granted anonymity to speak freely without fear of repercussions. "Now it's more easy just to say something and force it as the truth. But there's no way to back it up."

The US collects a vast amount of weather and climate data, an essential resource for humanitarian efforts around the globe. It guides efforts to predict where droughts and crop failures might lead to food shortages, where people are at risk from flash flooding, and how to prepare for the Atlantic hurricane season. Even if these systems eventually get back up and running, erratic changes under the Trump administration are already …

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