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In what’s probably a “surprise” to no one who’s ever driven through Tulsa during a heavy rain, U.S. Senator James Lankford announced Tuesday that FEMA will be cutting checks totaling more than $20 million to help Oklahoma deal with its recurring weather disasters. The funds will cover everything from flood mitigation in Tulsa County to rebuilding Shawnee Public Schools and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf, both of which have been repeatedly impacted by tornadoes and storms over the past few years.

Tulsa County gets the lion’s share, $9.7 million, for Phase II of the 101st Street and Garnett Road Infrastructure Protection Project. The idea is simple: fix the roads and drainage around Haikey Creek so they stop turning into rivers every time it rains. Lankford pointed to his chats with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as a key to unlocking the funds, which will cover 90 percent of the project cost. Local taxpayers, in other words, can breathe a little easier, at least until the next storm rolls in.

Meanwhile, Shawnee and Sulphur will get federal help to rebuild schools battered by recent weather. Shawnee High School’s Stucker Building gets a fresh $1.7 million makeover, complete with a new gym and expanded safe room. The Oklahoma School for the Deaf gets $1.2 million for repairs and storm-proofing upgrades, including generators to keep sump pumps running when the heavens open again. Add in nearly $9.5 million in reimbursements for previous disaster management costs, and it seems Oklahoma is finally getting a federal helping hand, or at least a slightly larger umbrella.