Flood, Yes!
Receding waters would leave a carcass for predators to scatter, as always happens in such situations.
The boiling flood is the only scientific answer.
I think you’re more or less misunderstanding my point. Lets see.
Rising waters don’t kill a whale. So the flood doesn’t directly cause the death. It’s the receding waters that would cause them to be trapped, killed.
Sure the flood would have to happen first, but remember that I was addressing a point made by another poster, making lite of the idea increased water levels might result in the death of an aquatic creature.
It’s sort of like the idea that jumping off a building doesn’t kill you. It’s the sudden stop that kills you.