Eight more people have been killed by floods in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 238, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura says.

He was sharing a national update on the flood situation from Nyando, Kisumu County where he led a food donation exercise at Nduru Secondary School to affected families.

Mwaura noted that the situation had escalated as nearly 200 people had been killed by floods in the past one week.

“Unfortunately, eight more people have been killed by floods in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 238. Yesterday, we lost one person,” he added.

On status of schools in the country, the government spokesperson disclosed that 1,203 primary schools had been affected, translating to 481,000 affected learners.

Two hundred and ninety four (294) secondary schools have been impacted by floods, affecting nearly 124,000 students.

“For those who were asking when schools will resume, close to 600,000 learners cannot go back to school because of the flood situation, that is why schools will remain closed indefinitely. This has affected us more than El Nino.’

Nairobi County remains the most affected by floods with over 153,000 individuals feeling direct impact. Nyanza region is now the second most affected with over 40,000 individuals displaced.

Meanwhile, evacuations of Kenyans living along riparian lands particularly within Nairobi is ongoing.

Mwaura defended government’s evacuation structure, a day after President William Ruto visited Mathare and promised all affected individuals KSh10,000 to cover rent in alternative shelters.

“Kenya Kwanza is implementing a humane and structural evacuation process that is why we are doing during the day and not at night. This is a departure from the past regimes where people were chased without any assistance,” he added.

He reiterated that the evacuated locals will not be allowed to go back to their homes, in efforts to review urban planning.