RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday condoled with Pakistan over the victims of floods that struck the country's north, resulting in deaths, injuries, and missing persons.

In a cable to President Asif Ali Zardari, King Salman extended his "deepest condolences and sincere sympathy" to the families of the victims and the people of Pakistan as a whole, praying for the "speedy recovery of the injured and safe return of the missing."

The crown prince sent a similar cable to Zardari, according to the Saudi Press Agency, or the SPA.

Pakistani officials have said at least 344 lost their lives, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where torrential rains and cloudbursts triggered massive flooding on Friday.  More than 150 were reported still missing.

Homes were flattened by torrents of water that swept down from the mountains in Buner, carrying boulders that smashed into houses like explosions.

The government said that while an early warning system was in place, the sudden downpour in Buner was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be alerted.

Lt. Gen. Inam Haider, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, told a hastily convened news conference in Islamabad that Pakistan was experiencing shifting weather patterns because of climate change. 

Since the monsoon season began in June, Pakistan has already received 50 percent more rainfall than in the same period last year, he added.

(With Agencies)