The Bible presents Noah's flood as historical (Genesis 6-9, referenced by Jesus in Matthew 24:37-38, by Peter in 1 Peter 3:20-21 and 2 Peter 2:5). Flood traditions exist in cultures worldwide (Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, Hindu Manu story, Chinese Gun-Yu tradition). The debate is about scale: a global flood leaving no geological trace presents significant scientific challenges; a massive regional flood devastating the ancient Near Eastern world is scientifically plausible. 82/100 Spiritually Safe — both global and local flood views are held by serious Christians.
Genesis 6-9 describes God commanding Noah to build an ark (Hebrew: teba, a large box or chest) to preserve his family and representatives of every kind of land animal from a flood that would cover "all the earth" (Hebrew: kol ha-eretz). The flood lasted approximately one year. After the waters receded, God established a covenant with Noah — the Noahic covenant — signified by a rainbow.
The flood is treated as historical by Jesus (Matthew 24:37-38 — "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man"), by Peter (1 Peter 3:20-21, 2 Peter 2:5 — "Noah, a preacher of righteousness"), and by the Epistle to the Hebrews (11:7 — "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family"). The New Testament treats it as a real historical event.
Global flood (YEC position): The flood covered the entire earth, left the geological record we see (fossil layers, strata), and explains the worldwide distribution of flood traditions. Advocates: Answers in Genesis, Institute for Creation Research. Challenges: a global flood covering mountains to 15 cubits (Genesis 7:20) would require water volumes not found on Earth; the geological record does not show a single global flood layer.
Regional flood: "All the earth" (kol ha-eretz) in ancient Hebrew could mean "all the land" of the known world — the Mesopotamian flood plain. A catastrophic regional flood devastating all of Mesopotamia (the "whole earth" known to Noah) is scientifically plausible and consistent with the geological record of ancient Mesopotamian flooding. This interpretation is held by many evangelical geologists and Old Testament scholars. The worldwide distribution of flood traditions is consistent with this — a catastrophic flood of that magnitude would have been ancestrally remembered across diaspora cultures.
Flood narratives exist across cultures worldwide: the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh (a Babylonian flood narrative predating the biblical text and sharing specific details — a boat, a divine warning, birds sent out), the Akkadian Atrahasis Epic, Hindu Manu tradition, Chinese Gun-Yu flood story, and dozens of others across every inhabited continent. This worldwide distribution is itself evidence for a catastrophic flood event in human ancestral memory. The specific similarities between Genesis and Mesopotamian traditions suggest either common historical source or shared ancestral memory of the same event. See our guides on Is the Bible Historically Accurate? and How Old Is the Earth? See our Theology hub. GotQuestions on Noah's Ark is comprehensive.