Terms of Use
preparecenter.org is made available by the American Red Cross. This site is governed by the Terms of Use of all American Red Cross sites, and applies to any person viewing, posting or otherwise using this site in any way (the "Visitor"). By using this site, the Visitor agrees to be bound by all the terms and conditions outlined and below. If you do not agree, you should not use this site. These terms and conditions may be changed or updated from time to time by the American Red Cross without notice.
© Copyright The American National Red Cross. All rights reserved.
Restrictions on Use
The American Red Cross maintains and operates this site on behalf of the Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC) as a resource for the benefit of the stakeholders involved in disaster preparedness and related topics. Any use of this site by visitors that would limit or impair the availability or quality of these services and resources is prohibited and the American Red Cross reserves the right to take any actions required to enforce this principle.
The American Red Cross considers framing, the practice of intact reproduction of a page or pages of one website into another website, to be deceptive and a violation of the American Red Cross' copyright rights. No authorization or permission is given for framing our content, whether in whole or in part.
The logos and documents of the American Red Cross are protected by U.S. copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights and laws.
If you have any questions about the American Red Cross' intellectual property rights, you can contact us at:
American Red Cross
National Headquarters
Office of the General Counsel
2025 E Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Content Submission, Procedures and Disclaimer
Publication of content is a free service to the Disaster Preparedness community and requires login.
Content is selected for publication in accordance with the GDPC mandate, which is to serve the information needs of the disaster preparedness community, including the development of information exchange tools to facilitate collaboration. Content is accepted and published according to the following priority system:
- Content directly pertaining to work in the area of disaster preparedness submitted by Red Cross Red Crescent national societies and their network of international, national, and local partners.
- Content pertaining to related sectors.
Any content submitted must include a hyperlink to the original source of such content.
The GDPC reserves the right to refuse publication of information that does not meet the criteria mentioned above, or is deemed to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Content accepted for publication will generally be posted on this site within five working days of submission.
The opinions expressed in the sites linked from this site are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by the American Red Cross, GDPC or preparecenter.org editors. Inclusion of links to sites outside the American Red Cross does not imply endorsement of the contents of those sites.
Restrictions and Limitations of Liability
The American Red Cross and its related, affiliated and subsidiary units, including chapters and blood service regions will not be liable for any damages or injury caused by, including but not limited to, any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation of transmission, computer virus, or line failure.
The American Red Cross will not be liable for any damages or injury, including but not limited to, special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the materials in this site or a site which is linked to this site, even if there is negligence on the part of the American Red Cross or an authorized American Red Cross representative has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or both. Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, the American Red Cross' liability in such jurisdictions shall be limited to the extent permitted by law. The American Red Cross total liability to you for all losses, damages, and causes of action (in contract, tort (including without limitation, negligence), or otherwise) will not be greater than the amount you paid to access this site.
This site may be linked to other sites that are not maintained by the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross is not responsible for the content of those sites. The inclusion of any link to such sites does not imply endorsement by the American Red Cross of the sites. The American Red Cross makes no representations whatsoever about any other web site which you may access through this one.
Submissions
The American Red Cross hereby reserves sole proprietary rights over all site content that was not originally created by visitors to the site, or is not otherwise subject to ownership by content creators. This includes all non visitor-created text, graphics, photographs, logos, and other items that appear on the site. The American Red Cross does not take any responsibility for the veracity or accuracy of any of the information submitted to it.
All remarks, suggestions, ideas, or other information regarding improvement of this site communicated to the American Red Cross through this site (collectively, the "Submission") will forever be the property of the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross will not be required to treat any Submission as confidential, and will not be liable for any ideas for its business (including without limitation, product, or advertising ideas) and will not incur any liability as a result of any similarities that may appear in future American Red Cross activities. The American Red Cross will be entitled to use the Submission for any commercial or other purpose whatsoever, without compensation to you or any other person sending the Submission. You acknowledge that by accepting these Terms and Conditions, you agree not to post content that:
- Creates a risk of harm, loss, physical or mental injury, emotional distress, death, disability, disfigurement, or physical or mental illness to yourself, or to any other person;
- May create a risk of any other loss or damage to person or property;
- Seeks to harm or exploit children under the age of 13 by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable details or otherwise;
- Violates or encourages any conduct that violates any applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy located at preparecenter.org/content/privacy-policy;
- Contains any information or content we deem to be hateful, violent, harmful, abusive, racially or ethnically offensive, defamatory, harassing, humiliating or embarrassing to any person or entity (publicly or otherwise), libelous, threatening, profane, indecent, obscene, or otherwise objectionable, including “adult” content, nudity or sexual activity;
- Contains any information or content that is illegal (including, without limitation, the disclosure of insider information under securities law or of another party’s trade secrets);
- Infringes any third party’s intellectual property rights (including trademark rights, copyrights and trade secrets,) privacy rights, publicity rights or other personal or proprietary rights;
- Contains any information or content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships;
- Is fraudulent, false, misleading, or deceptive
- Gives the impression that it emanates from or is endorsed by us or any other person or entity, if this is not the case.
It is the American Red Cross’ policy to terminate use privileges of any Visitor who repeatedly fails to comply with these Submission requirements.
If you believe that any Submission is objectionable, please email gdpc@redcross.org and (i) provide a link to the post and (ii) clearly state the reason for your objection.
Syndication
This site is purposely designed to allow information exchange partners the opportunity to syndicate content. Content syndication authority from information exchange partnerships is implied in the exchange agreement between the American Red Cross and the partner, according to the syndication terms of use. This site is not responsible for unauthorized re-publishing of information on other sites, and encourages content providers to monitor their content and report any misuse to gdpc@redcross.org.
Outside Content
The American Red Cross is not responsible for the content of external or third-party websites that may be accessible or displayed through external links on this site. Navigating to outside websites through links on this site is done at the sole risk of the Visitor, and the American Red Cross expressly disclaims any liability for any content that appears on any external site.
Links to this website
The Visitor may link to this site provided the Visitor does so in a way that indicates that the link is to the GDPC website and is fair and not misleading. Visitors may not integrate or make use of all or part of this site in ways that would confuse or mislead visitors as to the nature and origin of this site's content.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) Notice
The American Red Cross is committed to complying with copyright and related laws, and requires all visitors of the site to comply with these laws. Accordingly, you may not store any material or content or use or disseminate any material or content though the site in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by copyright law. Owners of copyrighted works who believe that their rights under copyright law have been infringed may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) to report alleged infringements. You may not post, modify, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information belonging to others unless you have the requisite legal rights to do so. It is the American Red Cross’ policy to terminate use privileges of any visitor who repeatedly infringes the copyright rights of others upon receipt of proper notification to the American Red Cross by the copyright owner or the copyright owner’s legal agent.
If you feel that a posted message is objectionable or infringing, we encourage you to contact us immediately. Upon our receipt of a proper notice of claimed infringement under the DMCA, we will respond expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material claimed to be infringing and will follow the procedures specified in the DMCA to resolve the claim between the notifying party and the alleged infringer who provided the content in issue. The American Red Cross’s designated agent (i.e., the proper party) to whom you should address such notice is listed below.
If you believe that your work has been copied and posted using the site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our designated agent with the following information:
- an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;
- a description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
- a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located to permit us to locate the material;
- your address, telephone number, and email address;
- a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright or intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law; and
- a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information contained in your report is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.
Our designated agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached as follows:
By E-Mail: gdpc@redcross.org with the subject line “DMCA”
By Mail:
American Red Cross
Attn: Global Disaster Preparedness Center
2025 E Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Monitoring
The American Red Cross has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor the content of the site (including any social or chat forum), to determine compliance with these conditions of use and any operating rules established by the American Red Cross and to satisfy any law, regulation or authorized government request. The American Red Cross has the right and sole discretion to edit, refuse to post or remove any material submitted to or posted on or within the site, including, without limitation, the right to remove any material that the American Red Cross, in its sole discretion, finds to be in violation of the provisions hereof or otherwise objectionable.
Disclaimer
The information in this site could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. The American Red Cross may make changes or improvements at any time.
The information in this site is provided "AS IS" and without warranties of any kind either expressed or implied, to the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable law, the American Red Cross disclaims all warranties or merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The American Red Cross does not warrant that the functions contained in the material will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that this site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or other harmful components. The American Red Cross does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use of or the result of the use of the material in this site in terms of their correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise.
The information on this site is distributed internationally and may contain references to the American Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and other Red Cross or Red Crescent Society services, products, and programs that are not in your country. These references do not imply that the American Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross, or other Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies intend to announce or provide the programs, products, or services in your country. All questions about the International Committee of the Red Cross, Red Cross, or Red Crescent activities in your country should be directed to the Red Cross or Red Crescent Society in your country.
Termination
The American Red Cross or you may terminate this agreement at any time. You may terminate this agreement by destroying: (a) all materials obtained from the American Red Cross through this site, and (b) all related documentation and all copies and installations (together, the "Materials").
The American Red Cross may terminate this agreement immediately without notice if, in its sole judgment, you breach any term or condition of this agreement. Upon termination, you must destroy all Materials.
Miscellaneous
These Terms and Conditions will be governed and be interpreted pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America, excluding its conflicts of law rules. You expressly agree that the exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or action arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions or your use of this site shall be filed only in the federal courts located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. If any part of these Terms and Conditions is unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that part will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. Possible evidence of use of this site for illegal purposes will be provided to law enforcement authorities. This is the entire agreement between the parties relating to the use of this site.
Information on the American Red Cross Website is provided with the understanding that the American Red Cross is not rendering professional advice or recommendations. You should not rely on any information on these pages to replace consultations with qualified professionals to meet your individual needs.
Trademark Information
The Greek Red Cross emblem and the American Red Cross name are federally protected marks of The American National Red Cross (see United States Code, Title 18, Section 706).
All other trademarks displayed on this site or through links to other sites are the property of the respective trademark owners.
December 12, 1996
Amended December 3, 2019