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". Water, rocks and trees were swept down the mountainside after two days of intense monsoon rains,

Pakistani officials say they are expanding rescue and relief operations after flash floods killed more than 220 people in a single northwest district and destroyed homes, roads, and businesses

Most of the deaths were recorded by disaster authorities in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-west Pakistan. At least 74 homes have been damaged, while a rescue helicopter crashed during operations, killing its five crew.