Tar balls on coast part of Isaac's aftermath

Lingering effects of Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana include more than 20,000 electric customers still without power, an estimated 700 people still in shelters and gobs of weathered oil washing ashore along a stretch of coastline.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has approved more than $10 million in individual and housing assistance for more than 4,800 families as of Wednesday morning.

Power outages were down from more than 900,000.

Entergy Corp. listed most of the outages in Jefferson Parish, with more than 6,000, and in hard-hit Plaquemines Parish, with more than 5,000.

Tar balls and broad mats of tar were reported along several miles of Louisiana beaches on Tuesday. State officials worked to determine whether Isaac had churned up oil from the 2010 BP spill or another source.