Butler County residents have a greater respect of the power and fury of hurricanes, thanks to the county's encounters with the remnants of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan last September.

With the uncertainties stemming from Hurricane Katrina as the newest concern, residents must reflect on what they learned from last year's two destructive emergencies to hopefully enable them to respond more effectively should Katrina's remnants choose to imitate the major soakings inflicted by Frances and Ivan.

The one plus as the county looks ahead to Katrina's possible arrival Wednesday is that this has been a dry summer. The water table isn't as high as it was last September following persistent rain activity that dominated 2003 and much of the spring and summer of 2004.

But even with that potential asset in place, Katrina could have destructive consequences if, as a fast-moving weather event, it produces heavy rain and fast-moving runoff.

Meanwhile, the advice that was apropos last September also applies to the uncertainties posed by Katrina.

For municipalities, officials must be totally familiar with their respective emergency-response plans and with the opportunities for coordination that exist between emergency services and agencies.

For residents, it is to their advantage to be familiar with the provisions of their homeowners or renters policy and to have pictures of the interior and exterior of their homes prior to Katrina's arrival, especially in flood-prone areas. If damage were to be incurred, they would have those pictures for comparison with what exists in Katrina's aftermath.

Last year, after Frances but before Ivan, Frank Matis, director of county emergency services, noted the lack of understanding of the disaster-relief process that prevailed in the county.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding out there that there is some magic pot of free money that will help people fix their homes," he said. "That's just not the case."

After Ivan, many more county residents learned that unfortunate reality as they struggled to navigate the red tape that always is tied to government aid. Thus, "complacency" should not be in Butler County's vocabulary in these hours before Katrina's local impact becomes known.

Butler County's weather encounters last September were but a small fraction of what coastal regions of Florida, Texas, Louisiana and the Carolinas must deal almost every year during hurricane season. Prior to the start of this year's hurricane season, weather forecasters predicted 13 named storms would hit the United States this year.

Katrina is the 11th, and the first posing destructive possibilities for Western Pennsylvania. It made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Monday morning after threatening Sunday to reach the Gulf Coast region with Category 5 - catastrophic - strength.

Ivan made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane and proved relentless in the amount of rain it deposited, including in Butler and Allegheny counties.

Good advice for everyone this time is to not only try to ensure one's own well-being, but to be prepared to be watchful of others' needs and safety.

That's all part of the respect that Katrina is due, even during these hours of uncertainty as to the exact path this behemoth storm will take on its trek northward.