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How you can help victims of deadly quake in Turkiye and Syria

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Canadians are donating money and creating care packages for the victims of the deadly earthquake in Turkiye and Syria.

On Monday, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook southern Turkiye and parts of northwestern Syria, killing thousands. People have been working around the clock to free victims from the more than 5,000 buildings that were reduced to rubble. Footage of the hardest-hit areas shows complete destruction of cities, with buildings flattened and piles of iron, concrete and glass where homes once were.

The earthquake is one of the deadliest since a magnitude 9.0 quake off the northeast coast of Japan triggered a tsunami, killing more than 20,000 people in March 2011.

International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan said on Tuesday that the Canadian government would send $10 million to help the aid response.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP

Before donating money, the Government of Canada encourages people to check the charity or non-profit's name in its database of such organizations registered in Canada.

The following is a list of charities working in Canada or internationally to provide aid to Turkiye and Syria, where you will be directed to donation pages specific to earthquake relief:

CANADIANS PROVIDING AID

Across the country, Canadians are rallying communities and providing support for aid packages and money to help on the ground in Syria and Turkiye.

"(There are) 10 cities (in Turkiye) that are impacted and so much devastation across so many… such a wide geography," Sim Senol, president of the Turkish Canadian Society of Edmonton, told CTV News Edmonton. "They're not going to have enough relief workers and rescuers handling all this all at the same time."

Within a day, Canadian community organizations stepped up to create relief packages for victims. In Vancouver, a passenger plane packed with donations and emergency supplies left for Istanbul on Tuesday. CTV News Vancouver reported more than 400 boxes and 12 pallets of supplies were aboard.

Relief packages of blankets and warm clothing from Ottawa are also being donated for the people of Syria and Turkiye. 

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