Iowa residents — who dwell in “the land between two rivers” — held their collective breath over the 2010 Independence Day as 4-5 inches of rain and flash flooding were promised by weather reporters.

More rain is forecast and our state is saturated, just as it was 17 years ago in early July.

We’re wary because we vividly remember the devastating Flood of 1993 — the costliest, most devastating flood in U.S. history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Heavy snow pack, rapid thawing, a stalled-out Jet Stream, and months of unrelenting rains brought destructive floods to Iowa and the Upper Midwest.

The Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries surged with dangerous and swift water that overflowed their banks.

Twenty-three million acres of agricultural and urban lands were inundated for weeks; 50,000 homes were destroyed; and 70,000 people were displaced. The damage estimate was 15-20 billion dollars.

Fifty-two flood-related deaths occurred in the Upper Midwest.

Seven victims were Iowans, including 30-year-old National Guardsman and Ogden resident Spec. Steven M. West, who was electrocuted on July 16 in Des Moines while erecting an antenna to facilitate communication with water trucks in a city that was without water for most of July.

Because the tremendous, destroying power of water is unpredictable and often underestimated, many Iowa motorists were caught unaware by it. Some tried to drive through inundated spots where the water was faster and deeper than it looked.

Six Iowans were killed in flood-related traffic accidents, including Donald and Bernadene Sealine of Dexter, whose car was swept away by flood waters on July 10.

Donald’s body was recovered, but Bernadene is still missing.

Bernadene Ann Sealine was born in Dallas County April 24, 1926 to Bertrice L. and Gilbert F. Kirk. In Stanhope, on March 6, 1955 she married Donald L. Sealine. They were long-time residents of rural Dexter and had three children – Loree J., Bradley Kirk, and Steven Sealine. Bernadene was 67-years-old when the flood waters carried her away.

The stone for Donald and Bernadene Sealine, who were carried away by flood waters in 1993.

Donald is buried in Roberts Cemetery in Adair County. His stone also records Bernadene’s dates of birth and death, even though her body has not been found. Close by is the grave of their son, Bradley Kirk Sealine, who passed away 16 days after his parents.

Iowa’s Lost Summer: The Flood of 1993, published by Iowa State University Press and the Des Register and Tribune, is dedicated to the memory of the seven Iowa victims of the flood, including Donald and Bernadene Sealine.

Not all Iowa Cold Cases missing persons are victims of foul play. A force of nature can be as violent as an abduction, and its power and fury can thwart efforts to find its victims.