BATON ROUGE - Federal assistance is on hand for south Louisiana residents who are coping with both present day-to-day challenges and large-scale rebuilding efforts triggered by Hurricane Ida.

In a Tuesday news release, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, said it has so far approved more than 158,000 applications for disaster assistance and nearly $171 million to help Louisiana residents recover.

Those who are victims of the storm and have yet to apply for assistance or who aren't sure how FEMA can help them may be interested to know that the way FEMA is providing monetary assistance to victims of Hurricane Ida differs slightly from previous funding arrangements for storm survivors.

FEMA says funding for Ida victims includes rapid financial assistance for critical lifesaving needs:

-Grant money for food

-Water 

-Fuel for transportation

-Prescription drugs.

Other provisions from FEMA:

-Expedited assistance for people who had to evacuate to hotels because of the life-threatening power outages

-Temporary rental assistance for people who need to relocate (for homeowners and renters)

-Basic home repairs to a primary residence (for homeowners)

Provisions related to the replacement of personal property (homeowners and renters):

-Money for chainsaws and generators may be available.

-Survivors whose primary home is in one of the 25 designated parishes may be eligible to receive money for the purchase or rental of a generator up to $800. The generator must have been purchased between Aug. 26, 2021 and Sept. 25, 2021.

-The reimbursement amount for the purchase or rental of a chainsaw is up to $250.

FEMA determines eligibility on a case-by-case basis. To date, the organization's Disaster Survivor Assistance teams have registered 2,114 survivors in 13 parishes: Ascension, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, New Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. John’s, St. Mary's, Tangipahoa and Terrebonne.

Click here for more on Hurricane Ida assistance provided by FEMA.