Rescuers were continuing to search on Monday for more than 150 people still missing in northwestern Pakistan after days of torrential rain caused flash floods that have killed more than 270 people.

A senior politician has blamed local residents for the high death toll, saying people should have built their homes elsewhere.

The death toll in the mountainous district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province reached 277 on Monday after rescuers recovered three more bodies, emergency services spokesman Mohammad Suhail said.

The search operations have been extended to remote areas to find residents swept away by floods that hit the province on Friday, according to Suhail.

In Qadar Nagar Villag, in Buner, Noor Muhammad, said he had returned from Malaysia for his wedding when the floods came. His family lost their house and relatives in the flood.

“My father came to Islamabad to pick me up at the airport. When we were on our way to village, we came to know that a flood has come to the village and washed away everything with nothing left, our family house, everything was swept away,” Muhammad said on Monday.

The army has deployed engineers and heavy machinery to clear the rubble.

Villagers have accused officials of not telling them to evacuate ahead of flooding and landslides.

There was no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method for alerting emergencies in remote areas.

However, the government insists that while an early warning system was in place, the sudden downpour was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be informed.

AP video shot by Muhammad Arif