KANSAS CITY, Mo.—No matter who you are, your decisions today will impact whether you’ll be ready to be a hero tomorrow—so the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region VII, is opening up a live, interactive social media discussion with the public about disaster preparedness that leaves no one out!

On Sept. 24, 2013, at 12 noon CDT, FEMA’s Region VII office will host its first-ever LIVE interactive Twitter chat using the hashtag #ALLReadyChat to discuss disaster preparedness for everyone, including older Americans, people with or without disabilities and individuals with access and functional needs, as well as those with service animals or pets. The event is part of activities planned this month for National Preparedness Month (NPM).

“This is a chance for the public to interact with disaster experts in FEMA Region VII, but also with other agencies and organizations who will participate,” said Regional Administrator Beth Freeman. “Social media gives us a great ‘space’ to get to know one another better—it’s about give and take, not just us providing information, but everyone engaging to support community resilience.”

Superheroes capitalize on their strengths to excel. This sometimes means giving to others and other times it means asking for or accepting help. Superman is no exception! His vice is Kryptonite and there are times he needs and has received help from others to survive when it has weakened him. This empowers him and gives him an opportunity to rise up and help millions of other people. Every one of us has a superhero inside waiting for an opportunity to “save the day,” in one way or another!

Even superhero emergency responders cannot be everywhere at once. It can take minutes, hours or days to get help during a disaster. This makes disaster preparedness especially important for people with disabilities and individuals with access and functional needs, including those with temporary situations—for example, those recovering from surgery, or those who have difficulties moving around for a variety of reasons.

When planning for emergencies, think about things you will need that may be difficult to get during a disaster– like batteries for adaptive medical equipment, medications and or assistance with transportation or moving around. Then plan with friends and family so you’re able to meet all your personal needs for at least three to five days. Share your stories on Twitter about preparedness using #ALLReadyChat and get good tips all week this week and then during the live chat!

The chat will last 30 minutes. The first twenty minutes will include a discussion about “myths versus facts” related to disaster preparedness and the last 10 minutes will be left open for the public and other organizations to ask FEMA questions about disaster preparedness.

Leading up to the live chat, this week, the hashtag #ALLReadyChat is already being used to provide important tips to fuel a conversation around preparedness for everyone, but especially individuals who are members of normally underserved groups. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to follow the #ALLReadyChat conversation on Twitter (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23allreadychat&src=typd). Anyone can follow the discussion by using this link. Twitter members can sign into Twitter to interact with the discussion. The discussion is being hosted by Region VII’s Twitter account.

Learn about other NPM events and activities Region VII and others are involved with and then plan and post your own disaster preparedness activity on the region’s website.

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Visit FEMA Region VII’s website and follow us on social media, at www.twitter.com/femaregion7, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate on Twitter.  The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.