Flood myths shape cultural memory, resilience strategies and spatial practices, reflecting how societies understand and respond to environmental disasters. These narratives do more than record past catastrophes; they convey lessons on survival, transformation and renewal. This study examines flood myths from various traditions, including Noah’s Ark, Atrahasis, Deucalion and Pyrrha, Matsya Purana, the Drowned Land of Saeftinghe, and the Namazu myth. Through spatial analysis, the research explores how these stories construct meaning through landscapes and disaster narratives.

The study identifies five spatial themes. Firstly, elevation as a refuge, highlights how mountains serve as sanctuaries and sites of renewal. Secondly, floating vessels as salvation examines arks and boats as protective spaces that preserve life and knowledge. Then, the vessel as a self-contained world considers how these spaces function as ordered microcosms during chaos. Fourthly, submerged landscapes as memory explore lost cities, and drowned lands as symbols of catastrophe, and cultural continuity. Finally, markers of disaster memory such as Japan’s tsunami stones show how communities embed disaster lessons into landscapes to guide future generations.

By combining perspectives from archaeology, mythology, and urban studies, this thesis reveals how flood myths continue to shape perceptions of risk, adaptation, and resilience. These narratives do more than preserve cultural memory; they offer lasting frameworks for understanding human responses to disasters, and the relationship between storytelling, space, and survival.