The Red Cross has appealed for $7.8 million in emergency funds from donors to help victims of an earthquake in southwest Pakistan, saying the priority was to provide shelter to the homeless as winter sets in, the Associated Press reported.
The 6.4-magnitude quake hit a poverty-stricken region near the Afghan border before dawn Wednesday, leaving thousands homeless. Officials say the death toll is 215 but likely to rise to more than 300.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Saturday, relief workers were still discovering mountain villages wrecked by the temblor that had yet to receive aid.
In its statement Sunday, the ICRC estimated some 20,000 to 30,000 people were affected. The U.N. has put the figure at more than 100,000, half of them children.