One way the Kenney Administration is working to make government more accessible than ever before is by holding regular Twitter chats across city departments.
Like the monthly #AskKenney Twitter Chat, #AskPhilly serves as a regular opportunity for citizens to share real time feedback and learn more about how their government works.
This month, Director of Emergency Management, Samantha Phillips, spent an hour taking your questions and highlighting ReadyPhiladelphia: the City’s free text-based notification alert system.
ReadyPhiladelphia sends you weather, emergency, and SEPTA alerts based upon specific addresses you get to choose. To date, over 17,000 Philadelphians have signed up for the alert system. If you’re not one of them, sign up online right now!
Check out highlights from the chat below!
One month after one of the largest snowstorms in Philadelphia history, tweeters asked about weather response:
@SamPhillipsPHL When there's a big weather event, do you have single, go-to source of info, or do you take a blended approach? #askphilly
— Ed Dougherty (@ejdinPhilly) February 23, 2016
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702540342281826304
Do you see the growth of social media as a tool to help get messages out in disasters? #AskPhilly
— Jim Guckin (@jimguckin) February 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702556754601713665
Sam offered advice for how local residents can prepare for emergency events:
@PhiladelphiaGov from your experience,is there anything people can do to prepare but don't on common emergencies,like house fires #AskPhilly
— Kate (@k_schmid11) February 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702541494339682304
The Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia wondered how various modes of transit fit into emergency and evacuation planning:
Hey @PhilaOEM, how do how all modes of transit, like bicycling, fit into contingency planning? #AskPhilly
— Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (@bcgp) February 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702542554668134400
SEPTA Transit Chief Thomas Nestel asked what one piece of preparedness advice Sam would give to residents:
.@SamPhillipsPHL If you could give 1 recommendation to Philadelphians to help them with emergency prepardness, what would it be? #AskPhilly
— Thomas J. Nestel III (@TNestel3) February 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702543338688352256
Another tweeter asked about OEM’s accessibility and how all Philadelphians could readily access alerts:
@PhiladelphiaGov last question- what systems are in place to ensure deaf, hard of hearing, blind, & deaf-blind get timely alerts? #AskPhilly
— Jen Grice MPH, FPEM (@FloridaEMJen) February 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702545268408000512
With last autumn’s papal visit still fresh in people’s minds, and the Democratic National Convention coming up this summer, folks wondered about security:
@Philadelphia Will the city see security and closures for the DNC like we did for the pope? #AskPhilly
— Joshua Crompton (@PhillyNewsGuy) February 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702547237981786112
Some wondered about the team effort that goes into emergency response:
@PhiladelphiaGov what type of emergency plans do you have? are they for large scale events only or everyday type emergencies? #AskPhilly
— Kerri Ricker (@kricker27) February 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702547545126522880
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702548394900918273
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702548694655221760
Throughout the chat, Sam offered several facts about Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management, too!
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702551127787741186
https://twitter.com/SamPhillipsPHL/status/702552342823112704
Be sure to follow the Office of Emergency Management and it’s Director, Samantha Phillips on twitter!