Here are some ways to help earthquake victims

Searching for International Nongovernmental Organizations that are Fair and Accurate in Responding to Syria’s Second World Erdosan Earthquake

Thousands of people were killed and many more were injured when the most powerful earthquake to strike the region in almost a century hit Turkey and Syria.

Governments around the world are giving help to families who have lost their homes due to the cold.

Before you make a donation, especially to a lesser-known organization, you should do some research to make sure it is reputable. Sites like Charity Navigator and Guidestar grade nonprofits based on transparency and effectiveness. The Internal Revenue Service also allows you to search its database to find out whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

If you suspect an organization of committing fraud you can go to the National Center for Disaster Fraud, part of the Justice Department.

The Syrian American Medical Society, a United States-based humanitarian group that supplies medical care in Syria and nearby countries, is collecting donations to deliver emergency aid. One of its hospitals, Al Dana, received a lot of damage.

Global Giving, which helps local nonprofits, is collecting donations for emergency medical workers who need to provide things like food, shelter and medicine. The organization’s focus is on helping long-term in Turkey and Syria.

The Disaster Response Emergency Fund is in need of donations so that it can send immediate cash assistance.

OXFAM, an international organization that fights poverty, said it is working with women’s cooperatives in Turkey to determine an appropriate immediate and long-term response plan. It’s accepting donations.

CARE, an organization that works with impoverished communities, is accepting donations that will go toward food, shelter and hygiene kits, among other items.

The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, which since 2012 has provided medical relief and health care services inside Syria and to Syrian refugees in Turkey, is collecting money.

There were nearly 16 million people helped by humanitarian groups in Ukraine last year, according to the U.N. More than one-third of those received cash assistance, which can help prop up the battered national economy.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is in charge of directing funds through 650 partner organizations to help more than 11 million people.

The joint appeal, one of the largest of its kind for a single country, could draw a large outpouring of funds from Western countries, as a similar appeal did since the war began. Such U.N. appeals rarely get fully funded.

Filippo Grandi is the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. “I think the refugee appeal was funded in excess of 70% — not total, but quite good. We know that it will last.

“Of course, this is not the only crisis in the world,” Grandi added. “There’s many others that deserve — I’m just back from Ethiopia, Burundi. Who talks about Burundi? As far as I know, people need support no matter where they are.

The appeal from UNHCR does not cover Russia. Its figures, which are largely drawn from numbers provided by national governments, show that more than 2.8 million refugees from Ukraine have been taken in by Russia.