WARSAW, N.C. – Murphy-Brown LLC, the swine production subsidiary for Smithfield Foods Inc., is preparing its hurricane and emergency action plans as Tropical Storm Hanna threatens the east coast.

"All of the animal waste treatment lagoons on our company's farms are in good shape-they're in compliance with state required freeboard levels and we believe they will be able to handle rainfall associated with Hanna without serious threats to their structural integrity or to the environment," said Don Butler, Murphy-Brown's director of government relations and public affairs.

Butler pointed out that emergency generators are in place on all company farms and they have been tested to ensure they are in working order. "If we have a power outage, our farms will have the capability to switch to generator power to deliver the water and feed necessary for the well-being of our animals and provide for the protection and safety of our employees," he said.

Hanna, as of early Friday morning, was 430 miles south of Wilmington, N.C. with sustained winds of 65 miles per hour. A hurricane watch is in effect from Edisto Beach, S.C. to the North Caroline Outer Banks.

Sources: Smithfield Foods Inc., MSNBC