Pakistan floods kill 53 after heavy rains

At least 53 people have been killed by flash floods caused by torrential rain in northwest Pakistan, say officials.

The rain began on Saturday bringing flooding to parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces.

Pre-monsoon rains often cause damage in rural Pakistan and officials said locals had been warned to leave their villages for safer places.

The summer monsoon season is even worse, last year killing dozens.

The weekend's rains also saw dozens of people taken to hospital with injuries, a national disaster management official, Latif ur Rehman, told the Associated Press.

Pictures showed shops and homes damaged, and bridges swept away.

A Pakistani vendor stands by flood waters rushing through a market area on the outskirts of Peshawar on April 3, 2016. A MAJEED / AFP

Flood waters rush through a Pakistani market area as a man tries to salvage materials on the outskirts of Peshawar on April 3, 2016. A MAJEED / AFP

Habib Khan, from northern Swat valley, told local TV: "We're left on our own. Nobody from the government is coming to help us."

Officials said tents and other relief goods had been sent to the region. Hundreds of people have also moved to safer areas, local media reports.