Is there any historical evidence for the Flood outside of the Bible?

While many people claim that the account of Noah and the Flood is just a myth, it is interesting how far-reaching this myth really is.  In almost every culture throughout history, there is a flood account of some sort.  While these accounts are very different, they do have some similarities as well.  They all contain a flood that destroys the earth, the central figure is usually given divine warning of the judgment, a very large vessel is built or provided to survive the flood, a small number of people are saved from the flood, in most cases animals are saved as well, in many cases birds are released to see if the waters have dried up, and there is usually a sacrifice to the chief deity with a promise to never flood the earth again.  While these accounts are corrupted by their pagan beliefs, they do hearken to an actual event in history which is recorded perfectly in the Bible.