[oceanview]

fireboats pump 18,000 gallons of water per minute. OK, you have to modify the intake somehow for "city draining" duty, but its possible.

[BurbankKarl]

how many square miles are how deep with water? and is it still filling with water?

[Ramius]

Yes... I heartedly agree... a fireboat is way better than a portable pump if the logistics can be worked out. But I would still submit that the scale of the mission is not something that will be done very quickly.

We're talking many billions of gallons of water... and I am confident that some uniquely creative solutions will be used that will amaze all of us. But it is a big job...

[supercat]

Well, if I figure my units right, such a fireboat would drain one hectare at a rate of 40cm/hour. If you only need to drain one hectare (e.g. because you put in a cofferdam around some particular area you need to drain) that may be a useful speed. But for dealing with the flood as a whole, quite useless.