Eastern China is bracing as typhoon Morakot approaches after slamming into Taiwan Friday night.

Fujian Province's meteorological station said Morakot is likely to land on the coastal Chinese province Saturday evening or night.

Although the typhoon is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before it arrives in the Chinese mainland, it was packing winds of 137 kilometers an hour at 7:00 AM on Saturday and churning northwestwards at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers an hour.

It has already unleashed torrential rain in Fujian where, at five sites, water levels have been recorded at 0.02 to 0.66 meters above warning levels.

In Luoyuan county of Fuzhou City, Fujian's capital, people stayed at home during the weekend and roads were almost empty.

Fewer sellers appeared in the county's vegetable market.

"The fields were flooded," said Li Sailian, a vegetable seller.

"Strong winds broke the ropes tying down the horsebeans, and the crown daisies (chrysanthemum greens) were destroyed," she said.

Li brought all her available stock to the market, fearing the storm would destroy it completely.

In downtown Fuzhou, where several big trees have already been toppled by gale-force winds, people were rushing to supermarkets for necessities before the typhoon arrived.

In Putian City, also in Fujian, all scenic sites and ports have been closed and school classes suspended. A team of 26,222 people has been formed and equipped with flood-control materials, said Huang Dongzhou, director of the city's flood control office.

All of the city's 7,168 fishing ships have returned to harbor, Huang said.

The province's Ningde City is strengthening its defences to bear the brunt of Morakot, local meteorological authorities said.

People there are also reinforcing reservoirs with bricks and stones. Water in the city's 20 major reservoirs is only at 54 percent of their combined capacity, so officials with the flood control office said they think the rainfall will help with drought relief, as long as proper measures are taken to ensure safety.

Residents are also busy reinforcing their own houses.

Chen Kongsheng, a 61-year-old man, has attached four large rocks to the girders of his house, so that the typhoon "won't tear off his roof."

About 118,000 people in the city have been evacuated, said Chen Rongkai, Communist Party chief of the city.

Ningde has readied 103 rescue boats, 15 rafts and 8,300 life jackets to help people affected by the typhoon.

In adjacent Zhejiang Province, rainfall exceeded 50 millimeters on 6.8 percent of the province's land on Friday night. The highest reading was 110 millimeters in Cangnan County bordering Fujian.

Nearly 300,000 residents and tourists in danger areas were evacuated, and the province has told nearly 30,000 ships to return to harbor.

More than 50,000 soldiers were prepared for emergencies in Zhejiang, said the local government.

Shanghai was put on high alert and the World Expo venue is being protected around the clock.

East China's Shandong Province has also warned local governments to take measures beforehand to reduce losses from extreme weather.

Morakot, which means "emerald" in Thai, is the eighth storm to hit China this year. It landed in Hualien of Taiwan at 11:45 PM on Friday, and left at least six people dead or missing. A further 12 were injured. Morakot also overturned cars and cut power supplies.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2009)