UN agencies have appealed for urgent funds to assist the hundreds of thousands affected by deadly earthquakes in western Afghanistan. The region was struck by two massive earthquakes on Saturday, followed a series of aftershocks, including a major one on Wednesday that flattened several homes spared by the original quake. Women and children make up over 90 per cent of the victims, according to UN agencies. Making matters worse, on Thursday, a dust storm struck many affected villages destroying hundreds of tents, including many at the Gazergah Transit Centre, where many displaced families were sheltering. Families impacted were moved from the Centre to a school in Herat city where they will require food and non-food relief items, according to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) launched a $14.4 million humanitarian appeal to provide shelters, heaters and warm clothes to survivors sleeping out in the open, ahead of the approaching bitter winter. The UN agency will also provide legal assistance and counseling, including helping recover and process key documents so that households, including refugees and internally displaced returnees, can exercise their civil rights. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued an initial appeal earlier this week for $20 million to deliver emergency and trauma care for newborns and children, repair schools and healthcare facilities, and provide psychosocial and mental health support to children and families. According to the UN agency, communities in the region were already reeling from the effects of years of conflict, insecurity and climate-induced disasters.