The Red Cross appealed Nov. 2 for $7.8 million in emergency funds to help victims of an earthquake in southwest Pakistan, saying the priority is to provide shelter to the homeless as winter sets in.

The magnitude 6.4 quake hit a poverty-stricken region near the Afghan border before dawn Oct. 29, leaving thousands homeless. The official death toll is 215 but is likely to rise to more than 300, officials said.

Relief workers were still discovering mountain villages that had yet to receive aid, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

In its statement Nov. 2, the Red Cross estimated some 20,000 to 30,000 people were affected. The United Nations has put the figure at more than 100,000, half of them children.