The Icelandic flag flutters in the wind of the motherland. (Suzanne Plunkett/Associated Press)

Think the banking crisis in the United States is bad?

The tiny country of Iceland, long thought of as rich, stable and forward-thinking is rapidly imploding because of the crisis. Experts believe the government could go bankrupt in a matter of days or weeks.

You probably didn't know that the island in the northeast Atlantic ocean that was home to explorer Leif Erikson has some reasonable connections to Seattle, where transplanted Icelanders are freaking out.

"Of course we're very surprised at how fast this has happened, and we all know that a lot of our family members are suffering," said prominent local Icelander Margaret Solvadottir, who teaches Icelandic language classes. Her siblings and 94-year-old mother are in the motherland. She says one of her brothers has lost millions of dollars that were invested.

Nobody knows exactly how many Icelanders are in the Pacific Northwest although Solvadottir estimates it could be up to 5,000.

It is known, however, that Iceland's capital Reykjavik has been a sister city to Seattle since 1988 and many Seattlelites, including City Council members have traveled to Reykjavik to deepen ties.

The late wife of the president of Iceland spent time in Seattle fighting leukemia in 1997. And Icelandic companies, including the major shipper Eimskip have key offices in Seattle.

Seattle's Nordic Heritage Museum has an Iceland room.

There's even a book on Icelanders in the Pacific Northwest that you can buy from the local Icelandic Club of Greater Seattle.

But there's little the close-knit community here can do now except watch and pray as its country's economy self-destructs. Iceland's recent wealth was predicated on its incredible overexposure to the banking sector.

"Even though we are living here, we have real concerns about our country," Solvadottir says. "I just know that I want to be there."