Whether you call it Frankenstorm, Stormpocalypse or simply Hurricane Sandy, the giant weather system that barrelled into the East Coast was a favourite topic of conversation on social media from Facebook to Twitter.As people posted updates to friends and family, relayed emergency information and lightened the mood with humour, it's clear that discussing natural disasters on social media has become as much a part of the experience as stocking up on bread and batteries. And, the social media surge of storm-related posts proves Twitter and Facebook have become go-to sources for fast-moving events.As of Tuesday morning, the hashtag "Sandy" had more than 244,000 photos posted on Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing app bought by Facebook earlier this year. More than 144,000 more have been posted under #hurricanesandy and another 23,000 photos under #frankenstorm.As they waited for the storm to hit over the weekend, people posted photos of hurricane-preparedness supplies ranging from canned goods to board games and bottles of wine. Empty grocery store shelves where bread should and long lines at the supermarket also showed up on Facebook and Instagram."There are now ten pictures per second being posted with the hashtag "Sandy" — most are images of people prepping for the storm and images of scenes outdoors,” said Instagram CEO Kevin Systorm in an e-mailed statement. "I think this demonstrates how Instagram is quickly becoming a useful tool to see the world as it happens — especially for important world events like this."Facebook says use of the word "hurricane" has jumped 21,000 percent in news feeds across the site. By mid-Monday, dispatches about storm preparations gave way to messages of anticipation and real-time updates. Among US users, the terms "Sandy", "Hurricane Sandy" and "Hurricane" were the most-used terms on Facebook.To gauge how much its users are talking about a particular topic, Facebook uses a measurement tool it calls the "talk meter," which ranks terms around a topic or event on a scale of one to ten. Topics that generate the most buzz receive a ten. On Friday afternoon, Sandy-related chatter was at 7.12, the company said. By comparison, the San Francisco Giants World Series win on Sunday night measured at 6.71 on Facebook.On Twitter, Frankenstorm, FEMA — for Federal Emergency Management Agency — and New Jersey were among the top trending topics in the United States.Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley reminded his more than 53,000 Twitter followers to "ALWAYS BE CHARGING." Millions of East Coasters experienced electric power and landline telephone outages. As a result, power-hungry smart phones, laptops and tablet computers have become only way to communicate.