How to stay in touch amid Hurricane Sandy: tweet, Facebook, text A tourist struggles against gusting winds as the leading edge of Hurricane Sandy moves across the nation's capital on Monday. Win McNamee / Getty Images / October 29, 2012 October 29, 2012, 2:46 p.m. As many as 60 million Americans could be directly affected by Hurricane Sandy, a.k.a. Frankenstorm, according to a report on CNN. If someone you love is caught in the storm, the major cellphone providers are hoping you'll resist the urge to place a checking-in phone call and send a quick text instead. Sending a text, as opposed to placing a phone call, will help the recipient of your good wishes save battery power, and it will also free up wireless networks for emergency workers. You also have a better chance of getting through with a text when the networks get busy, Verizon explains in a statement. Saving battery power is going to be key for friends and family members hit by Sandy. Already 54,000 people on Long Island, N.Y., have no electricity, along with another 52,000 people in New Jersey and another 25,000 in Connecticut. Verizon suggests people use social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to check in on friends, and to let people who are in Sandy's path inform friends and family members how they are doing. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has additional tips on how to communicate during a natural disaster, including waiting at least 10 seconds before redialing if a phone call doesn't go through, and remembering that you may be able to use your car as a cellphone charger if you don't have electricity in your home. Sandy picks up speed, nears landfall as it lashes the East