God judged the corrupted world, composed of men who had become flesh, by the deluge to terminate the age of Cain (6:1-7, 11-13). The first age of human culture was the age of Cain, and that age, that part of the world, was terminated by the flood.
God judged at Babel the world, which had abandoned Him and had joined Satan as one, to terminate the race of Adam (11:1-9). The judgment of the flood terminated the age of Cain. Then the judgment of Babel terminated the race of Adam. The race of Adam was through with God because they had abandoned God and had joined Satan as one.
God's judgment on the world is a strong evidence that the God-created yet rebelling world is still under God's sovereign ruling. This is God's work on the negative side to judge the world from Cain to Babel. This is also a negative part of God's history.