Effective Date: July 13, 2026
Terms of Use
Welcome to Tampa Bay Disaster Preparedness News ("Website," "we," "us," or "our"). These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of our website, content, newsletters, and related services.
By accessing or using this Website, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Website.
1. Eligibility
You must have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement under applicable law to use this Website.
If you are using the Website on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.
2. Purpose of the Website
Tampa Bay Disaster Preparedness News provides independent journalism, educational content, preparedness resources, commentary, newsletters and related information regarding emergency preparedness, severe weather, public safety, disaster resilience and related topics.
Unless expressly stated otherwise, our content is provided for informational and educational purposes only.
3. No Emergency Services
This Website is not an emergency notification service.
Do not rely on this Website for real-time emergency warnings or life-safety decisions.
During emergencies, always follow instructions issued by official authorities, including local emergency management agencies, the National Weather Service, law enforcement, fire rescue, and other government officials.
If you believe you are in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.
4. No Professional Advice
Content published on this Website does not constitute:
- Legal advice
- Medical advice
- Engineering advice
- Insurance advice
- Financial advice
- Professional emergency management advice
Always consult qualified professionals regarding decisions affecting your specific circumstances.
5. Accuracy of Information
We strive to publish accurate, timely and well-sourced information.
However:
- Conditions change rapidly.
- Government guidance may change.
- Weather forecasts evolve.
- Emergency situations develop quickly.
Accordingly, we cannot guarantee that all information will always be complete, current or error-free.
Use your own judgment and consult official sources before making important decisions.
6. Editorial Independence
Our editorial content is produced independently.
Advertising, sponsorships, partnerships or commercial relationships do not determine our editorial opinions or news coverage.
Editorial decisions remain solely under the control of Tampa Bay Disaster Preparedness News.
7. Intellectual Property
Unless otherwise indicated, all original content on this Website—including articles, graphics, logos, photographs, videos, designs, text, layouts and other materials—is protected by applicable intellectual property laws.
All rights are reserved.
You may:
- Read and share links to our articles.
- Quote brief excerpts with proper attribution where permitted by law.
You may not, without prior written permission:
- Copy entire articles.
- Republish content.
- Sell or license our content.
- Remove copyright notices.
- Scrape or systematically extract content.
- Use automated tools to reproduce substantial portions of the Website.
- Create derivative works based on our original content, except as permitted by law.
Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of our intellectual property.
8. User Conduct
You agree not to:
- Violate any applicable law.
- Attempt unauthorized access to our systems.
- Interfere with Website security or functionality.
- Upload malicious code.
- Harvest personal information from other users.
- Impersonate another person or organization.
- Use the Website to distribute spam or fraudulent content.
- Engage in activity that disrupts the experience of other users.
We reserve the right to restrict or terminate access for violations of these Terms.
9. User Submissions
If you submit story tips, comments, photographs, videos, feedback or other materials, you represent that:
- You have the necessary rights to submit them.
- The materials do not violate the rights of others.
- The information is accurate to the best of your knowledge.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to review, reproduce, publish, edit and use submitted materials for editorial purposes.
Submission does not guarantee publication.
10. Third-Party Links
Our Website may link to third-party websites or services for your convenience.
We do not control or endorse third-party websites and are not responsible for their content, availability, privacy practices or security.
Your use of third-party websites is at your own risk.
11. Advertising and Sponsored Content
We may display advertisements, sponsorships, affiliate links, or sponsored content.
Sponsored or paid content will be identified where required by law or our editorial policies.
Advertising relationships do not influence our independent editorial reporting.
12. Artificial Intelligence
We may use artificial intelligence tools to assist with research organization, drafting support, grammar improvement or data analysis.
Editorial judgment, fact verification and publication decisions are made by human editors.
AI-generated content is subject to human review before publication.
13. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Website and all content are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of:
- Accuracy
- Merchantability
- Fitness for a particular purpose
- Non-infringement
- Availability
- Reliability
We do not warrant that the Website will be uninterrupted, secure or free from errors, viruses or other harmful components.
14. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Tampa Bay Disaster Preparedness News, its owners, editors, contributors, affiliates, licensors and service providers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary or punitive damages arising out of or relating to your use of the Website.
Where permitted by law, our total liability for any claim relating to the Website shall not exceed US $100 or the amount you paid us directly during the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, whichever is greater.
Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so portions of this section may not apply to you.
15. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Tampa Bay Disaster Preparedness News and its owners, editors, contributors, affiliates and service providers from claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees arising from:
- Your use of the Website.
- Your violation of these Terms.
- Your infringement of another person's rights.
- Content you submit.
16. Privacy
Your use of this Website is also governed by our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference.
17. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time.
The revised version will be posted on this page with an updated Effective Date.
Your continued use of the Website after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
18. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.
Any legal action arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Website shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Florida, unless applicable law requires otherwise.
19. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
20. Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Tampa Bay Disaster Preparedness News regarding your use of the Website.
21. Contact Us
Questions regarding these Terms of Use may be directed to:
Tampa Bay Disaster Preparedness News