Lauper's uncle died during Hurricane Sandy

NEW YORK, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Pop star Cyndi Lauper says her 90-year-old uncle was found dead in his home in a section of New York badly battered by Hurricane Sandy.

"He was old. He didn't want to leave his house," People.com said Lauper told the crowd at Lenox Hill Hospital's Autumn Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan this week. "I was in Chicago, and I called and said [to relatives]: 'Why did you guys leave him?' And they just didn't think it was going to get that bad."

People.com said Lauper dedicated the performance of her song "Time After Time" to her uncle, George Stathis, at the event. She did not say what the cause of death was.

More than 110 people in the United States have died because of last week's hurricane.