To the Editor:

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and in all of Princeton’s all-too-frequent power outages, communication was key. I’d like to commend the almost-merged Township and Borough officials for frequent updates from their reverse 911 notification system. And special kudos to Krystal Knapp of Planet Princeton and Greta Cuyler of Princeton Patch, whose constant stream of wide-ranging critical information, provided online at all hours of the day and night, was absolutely invaluable — a real community service.

It can be tricky to receive these communications when power is out. The reverse 911 messages are by phone. If you can’t rely on a hardwired landline when power is out, I recommend registering a cell phone number online at princetontwp.org (link to Register for Emergency Telephone Notifications from the homepage).

If you’ve been thinking about getting a smartphone, I highly recommend it, as mine was an essential lifeline for my family in this crisis. Through the good graces of the always-reliable Verizon Wireless and a generous friend with a generator, for constant recharging, I could always get the news and be in touch with friends and family. I had never before understood why anyone would want to use Twitter, but became an instant convert in this emergency. With a Twitter feed from Planet Princeton and Princeton Patch, I knew pretty much everything I needed to know. I cannot thank them enough.

Amy Goldstein

Snowden Lane