Zevachim 113B

הא איפנו! נהי דאיפנו מירושלים, מכולה ארץ ישראל לא איפנו.

as they were already removed. One can respond: This baraita deals exclusively with Jerusalem. Granted that the bones of those who perished in the Flood and at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar were removed from Jerusalem, but they were not removed from all of Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, outside Jerusalem, the red heifer may be slaughtered only in a place that has been inspected.

איכא דאמרי, איתיביה ריש לקיש לרבי יוחנן: איה מתי מבול? איה מתי נבוכדנאצר? מאי, לאו מדהני הוו ⁠– הני נמי הוו? מידי איריא?! הא כדאיתיה והא כדאיתיה.

There are those who say the discussion should be inverted, and Reish Lakish raised an objection to R' Yoḥanan, who holds that the Flood did not affect Eretz Yisrael, from that baraita, as R' Yehoshua said: Where are the dead of the Flood, and where are all of the dead killed by Nebuchadnezzar? Reish Lakish said: What, is it not possible to infer from this question that since those slaughtered by Nebuchadnezzar were in Eretz Yisrael, those who perished in the Flood were also there? R' Yoḥanan responds: Are the cases comparable? This is as it is and that is as it is, i.e., the dead of Nebuchadnezzar were indeed in Eretz Yisrael, but the dead of the Flood were not, as there was no flood there.

איתיביה: ״מכל אשר בחרבה מתו״⁠ – בשלמא לדידי, דאמינא ירד מבול לארץ ישראל ⁠– משום הכי מתו. אלא לדידך, אמאי מתו? משום הבלא.

Reish Lakish raised an objection to R' Yoḥanan: With regard to the Flood, it is stated: “All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, whatsoever was on the dry land, died” (Genesis 7:22). Granted, according to my opinion, that I say the Flood descended upon Eretz Yisrael, due to that reason all living creatures on Earth died, even those in Eretz Yisrael. But according to your opinion that the Flood did not descend on Eretz Yisrael, why did they die there? R' Yoḥanan responds: They died due to the heat that accompanied the floodwaters, and that spread to Eretz Yisrael as well. Those corpses were then buried in known locations.