In the middle of the night, by the glow of their mobile phones, rescuers and villagers dug through the concrete remains of flattened houses after massive rocks crashed down on a remote Pakistani village following a cloudburst.

Monsoon rain in northern Pakistan has caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages, with around 200 people still missing.

Across Pakistan, monsoon rains that began in late June have been heavier than usual, killing at least 645 people. Four hundred of those deaths were in the northwest alone, where narrow valleys and river-carved gorges funnel rainwater into sudden torrents.

SWABI: A powerful cloudburst followed by landslides struck Swabi district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, causing widespread destruction. Homes were swept away and many residents displaced, according to local officials.

Massive, sudden downpours of rain known as cloudbursts have struck India and Pakistan during this monsoon season, killing hundreds of people in the flash floods and landslides they have triggered.

Fresh torrential rains in northern Pakistan killed at least 20 people on Monday, local officials said, as the region is ravaged by an unusually intense monsoon season that has left more than 300 people dead in recent days.

ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) warned against more rains and cloudburst incidents in northern parts of Pakistan as death toll during the current monsoon season reached 657 while 929 injured in various incidents across country.