At least 45 people have been killed by flash floods caused by torrential rain in northwest Pakistan, officials said.

The rain began on Saturday causing flooding in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan provinces.

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

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

The weekend's rains also sent 34 people to hospital with injuries, a national disaster management official, Latif ur Rehman, told the Associated Press.

A number of houses were damaged and bridges swept away, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.

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