Aziz Ahmed, a local schoolteacher in Buner, northwestern Pakistan said the thunder accompanying recent torrential rains was so loud he thought the "end of the world had come."

More than 200 people remain missing in one district of north-west Pakistan as a result of devastating monsoon flooding and landslides, an official has said. Flash floods have killed more than 300 people in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in recent days, with most of the deaths recorded in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistani authorities on Sunday defended their response to flash floods that killed more than 200 people in a single northwestern district last week.

The country has endured heavier rain during monsoon seasons, which scientists have attributed to climate change. The authorities said that at least 194 people died on Friday.

A sudden flash flood, triggered by heavy rain, swept through northwest Pakistan, wreaking havoc across towns and villages and claiming over 300 lives in just 24 hours, including five crew members of a rescue helicopter.