Genesis 6–9 describes a catastrophic flood in which the waters covered the mountains and nearly all land-dwelling life outside the ark was destroyed. Traditionally, many Christians have understood this as a worldwide flood covering the entire planet.

But geology does not show clear evidence of a single global flood occurring during human history, leading some believers and scholars to argue that Genesis may instead describe an enormous regional catastrophe remembered as covering the entire known world.

Does the language of Genesis require a global flood? Could the Hebrew descriptions reasonably refer to the inhabited land known to the author? Or does interpreting the Flood as regional undermine what the biblical text actually says?

Which interpretation best fits both the biblical account and the physical evidence, and why?