Anguished Pakistanis searched remote areas for bodies swept away by weekend flash floods as the death toll reached 277 on Monday, while one official replied to the lack of evacuation warnings by saying people should have built homes elsewhere.

Officials say rescuers have recovered dozens more bodies from the rubble of collapsed homes in a northwestern district of Pakistan, bringing the death toll to at least 274, as authorities defended their response to the flooding and said they did not need any foreign help at this point.

The death toll from devastating floods in Pakistan has climbed to nearly 700 after 26 more people lost their lives in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past 24 hours, officials said Tuesday. With the latest casualties from heavy rains and massive flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,