Newark Mayor Cory Booker Tracks Hurricane Irene's Every Move Via Twitter

Go ahead and complain about how New York City overreacted to Hurricane Irene. But Irene was a serious hurricane that has so far left 40 people dead, with the death toll still rising, hundreds of homes with uninsurable flood damage and thousands of people without electricity. And Newark Mayor Cory Booker was not afraid to tweet about it.

The "tweeting mayor of Newark," who also memorably tweeted his way through the blizzard that blanketed the Northeast last December, tracked Hurricane Irene and her every move via Twitter, where he also dispatched personal pleas for food, clothing and shelter for those in need, and offered to check in on families who were struggling.

While Booker is something of a tech head and is quick to herald the benefits of new media, he maintains the importance of real-time interaction with people and a formal game plan.

"Social media is a great tool. It shouldn’t replace boots on the ground," he said during a recent appearance on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight." "We were literally out there knocking on doors in areas we thought were going to flood, having direct face-to-face conversations with residents."