Noah Vs. Gligamesh Flood

In English 12 I have been reading The story of Noah and the flood and The Epic of Gligamesh. I have realized they are similar in many ways. Both Noah and Gilgamesh were warned about the comming of the flood and told to be ready for its coming. During the flood they also both send out birds for different varities to see if the flood was over or not. I believe these stories are so similar because of the fact that there actually was a flood.