Sandy: Barack Obama 'to seek $50bn aid from Congress'

US President Barack Obama is expected to ask Congress for about $50bn (£31bn) in extra emergency aid for states hit by Storm Sandy, Democrats have said.

The administration is still compiling its request but may ask for between $45bn and $55bn, US media reported.

The spending request would be smaller than the $83bn in disaster aid that the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are seeking.

Sandy caused deadly storm surges along the East Coast when it hit in October.

A massive storm system, Sandy hit states from North Carolina to Maine, and has been blamed for more than 120 deaths. Thousands of people remain unable to return to their flood-damaged homes.

More than 120 people are known to have died as a result of the storm, mainly through flooding, and many remain displaced.

The request for additional funds comes as the White House is locked in a tense battle with Congress over a looming "fiscal cliff".

Officials suggested the relief funding proposal could come before Congress this week.

However, correspondents say lawmakers are unlikely to vote through large new spending requests in the current climate.

The president can request only $5.4bn more in funding before he comes up against a spending ceiling.

Some Republicans have said that any requests beyond that amount should be matched with spending cuts elsewhere.

"The president isn't going to leave New York, New Jersey or the entire region to fight for itself," Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said after a meeting with the Senate Appropriations sub-committee.

Mr Donovan, who is co-ordinating the government's recovery effort, added that Congress should take action in "the next few weeks" on the administration's request.

On Tuesday, Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said there was $4.8bn remaining in the disaster relief fund - enough to keep funding efforts into early next year.

The government has so far spent about $2bn in 11 states since the storm struck in late October.