Kenyan President William Ruto announced on Tuesday that he was deploying the military to evacuate all people living in flood-hit areas.
Opposition politicians and lobby groups have accused Ruto's government of being unprepared and slow to respond to the crisis despite weather warnings, and demanded that he declare the floods a national disaster.
“The government of Kenya has a human rights obligation to prevent potential harm from climate change and extreme weather events and to protect people when disasters strike,” Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
The HRW statement said events such as floods are “particularly threatening to marginalized and at-risk populations, including older people, people with disabilities, people living in poverty, and rural populations”.
The United States and Britain have issued travel warnings for Kenya and urged their citizens to remain vigilant amid the extreme weather.
Heavy rains have also left a trail of destruction in other East African countries, including neighboring Tanzania, where floods and landslides have killed at least 155 people.
