Final answer:
Survivors of the 'great flood' could refer to the biblical story of Noah, with only his family surviving, or to historical floods where survivors varied, like the 1963 dam-affected flood with thousands of survivors, or the 1954 Yangtze river flood where millions survived despite vast casualties.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question about how many people survived the great flood can refer to a number of historical, mythical, or religious events. In religious texts, such as the story of Noah's Ark in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the survivors are limited to Noah and his family. However, from a historical standpoint, the term could refer to any major flood event throughout history. Noting instances such as the 1963 landslide near a dam, which led to the deaths of nearly 2,000 people, or the 1954 Yangtze river flooding which caused more than 33,000 deaths and displaced 18 million people, the number of survivors would primarily depend on the scale and severity of each particular flood event.