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White House says cost to taxpayer comes on top of $5.2bn needed to deal with other recent disasters The damage caused by Hurricane Irene will cost $1.5bn in disaster relief, the White House has estimated. White House budget director Jacob Lew said the cost to taxpayers came on top of $5.2bn needed to deal with other recent disasters, including tornadoes that leveled much of Joplin, Missouri. Announcing the initial estimate, Lew said the $1.5bn relief fund should last through next year. More than 40 people were killed when Irene lashed the eastern easboard from the Carolinas to Maine. Despite being downgraded to a tropical storm as it hit land, Irene destroyed many homes and caused serious flooding in Vermont and upstate New York. The damage is expected to total billions of dollars but federal government aid does not include costs covered by private insurance. The costing came as the remenants of Tropical Storm Lee killed a man in Mississippi when he was swept away by floodwaters. John Howard Anderson Jr, 57, had been in a car with two other people trying to cross a rain-swollen creek. Tishomingo County coroner Mack Wilemon said he was told Anderson was outside the car and had been thrown a rope to be rescued, but he could not hold on. The storm was last night sweeping across Alabama and pushing into Georgia, where strong winds, possibly of tornado strength, sent trees crashing into homes and injured at least one person. Lieutenant Jay Baker of the Cherokee county sheriff’s office, northwest of Atlanta, said one person was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. By Monday afternoon at least 16,000 people were without power in Louisiana and Mississippi, which bore the brunt of the storm over the weekend. Hurricane Irene Natural disasters and extreme weather United States David Batty guardian.co.uk