Was Noah's Flood Local or Universal? 

I believe there is a lot of biblical evidence pointing to a global flood, and no biblical evidence pointing to a local flood. It's true that the Hebrew word for "earth" just means "land" and in some contexts refers only to the land of Israel. However the flood account doesn't just say that the earth/land was flooded. It says "all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits." (Gn.7:19-20)
You have to wonder, if that describes a local flood, what kind of language would be required to describe a global flood? If Moses desired to communicate a world-wide flood, what kind of language could he have possibly used to describe that?
Also, if it were a local flood, why the ark? Why not just send Noah to a dry place during that time?
Additionally, God promised Noah that He would never again flood the whole earth. But if it's a local flood, it seems that promise was broken because many times there have been local floods since then.
And most importantly, according to 1 Pe.3:6-7, Peter warns of the universal judgment that's coming when Christ returns and states that it will be like Noah's flood. So if the flood was local, that would leave room for Judgment Day to be local, and for the destructions of the heavens and earth after the Second Coming to be local. Then people in the United States wouldn't have to worry about Judgment Day because it's only for the Middle East.