"Built to withstand floods of 317,000 cubic feet (8,976 cubic meters) per second, Iceland's longest bridge was no match for the 1.6 million-cfs gusher unleashed by [the eruption of Vatnajökull volcano, which melted much of the snow on top of it]. For a few hours the volume of the water rivaled the flow of the world's second largest river, the Congo. No lives were lost, but damage to roads and utility lines is estimated at one billion Icelandic kronur ($15,000,000 U.S.)—a sizable bill for the nation's 265,000 citizens."
—From "Iceland's Trial by Fire," May 1997, National Geographic magazine
