Report: Sandy was USA’s 2nd-costliest hurricane

The National Hurricane Center says Superstorm Sandy was the deadliest hurricane to hit the northeastern U.S. in 40 years and the second-costliest in the nation’s history.

The center released a report Tuesday that attributes 72 deaths in the U.S. directly to Sandy, from Maryland to New Hampshire. That’s more than any hurricane to hit the northeastern U.S. since Hurricane Agnes killed 122 people in 1972.

The report counts at least 87 more deaths indirectly tied to the storm, from causes such as hypothermia due to power outages and accidents during cleanup efforts.

The report estimated Sandy caused $50 billion in damage, greater than any U.S. hurricane but Katrina. That 2005 storm caused $108 billion in damage, or $128 billion adjusted to 2012 dollars.