We know that there was a Sumerian flood myth on which the Babylonian flood story contained in the Gilgamesh epic was based. The Sumerian fragments tell us that the gods punished humans by sending a flood. Only the good king Ziusudra and, presumably, some followers, were spared. Having been told by Enki how to construct a ship to ride out the storm, Ziusudra survives the flood in his ark.