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Coca-cola consolidated beats historic flood

How it kept water out and business running


When it rains, it pours. And when it rains too much, it sometimes floods. As climate change progresses, its effect on the frequency and severity of flood and other natural disasters will increase. And flood is what Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc., the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the U.S., experienced in 2010. A major flood hit its Nashville, Tenn., facility, located in a high hazard, 100-year flood zone.

After the 2010 Nashville flood, the Coca-Cola Consolidated risk management team partnered with FM to develop a plan to prepare for the next time nearby Browns Creek overflowed its banks. With the facility in a flood-prone low area next to the creek, the team set out to protect critical production equipment within the facility, while letting the water flow in, and out, of the building.

Just over 10 years later, another 100-year flood hit Coca-Cola Consolidated's bottling facility. What happened when flood met engineered climate resilience?

Watch the plan in action