Sudden floods triggered by heavy rains have killed more than 400 people across parts of Pakistan, India-administered Kashmir and Nepal, authorities have said, with scores of people still missing.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Nearly 200 people were killed in torrential rains in northwest Pakistan over the past 24 hours, with bad weather also bringing down a rescue helicopter, local officials said on Friday.

Pakistani authorities are defending their response to flash floods that killed more than 200 people in a single northwestern district this week. Residents in Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,