Anguished Pakistanis are searching remote areas for bodies swept away by weekend flash floods as the death toll has reached 277.

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.

Pakistan officials said rain-related incidents have killed at least 220 people in a northwest district.