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CHARLOTTE -- In times of disaster, cell phones are your best bet for communication. But, they're not 100 percent reliable.

Companies recommend text messaging rather than calling because text messages use much less network capacity.

Even with limited power and connectivity, Sandy's story has been told all over Facebook, Twitter and the photo-sharing app Instagram this week.

According to Hootsuite, a firm that tracks social media comments, the word "Sandy" was mentioned nearly 7 million times on social media sites between Sunday and Monday. Usually, the word is mentioned just 3,000 times a day.

On Facebook, as of Tuesday morning, the most-shared term by U.S. users was "we are ok." Other top shared words and phrases included references to electrical power, damage and trees, and terms such as "made it," "safe" and "thankful."

For users with limited power, it's the fastest way to reach everyone they know all at once.