Hurricane Sandy rocked the Jersey Shore like no other disaster before it. But another disaster from nearly a century before caught the most interest from Manchester Patch readers last year.

The Hindenburg disaster, a chapter in Lakehurst's history that's remembered but not celebrated for its destruction and iconic image, tops the list of stories viewed by Manchester Patch readers in 2012.

Traffic and crime news also topped the list, beginning with a September car-crash tragedy that killed 68-year-old Theresa R. McKeon of Whiting.

In July, a former Manchester Police Department officer and the son of the township's first police chief was found dead. Darrin "Mark" Payne, 49, was discovered in his Manchester home by family members, Chief of Police Brian Klimakowski confirmed.

Then, in an awkward and trivial turn, a story on reports swirling that MTV stars Snooki and JWoww may be headed to Manchester - a situation which was later confirmed - also neared the top of the story list.

Here is the story list, with the numbers of visitors for each story: