Typhoon Morakot lashes Taiwan

(CNN) -- Typhoon Morakot lashed Taiwan with high winds and heavy rains Friday as the outer edge of the storm began to move across the island.

The storm had made a slight turn toward the right, and was hugging the Taiwanese coastline at about midnight (noon ET), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

It was packing winds of up to 148 kmh (92 mph), with gusts up to 185 kmh.

CNN forecaster Mari Ramos reported that the storm was expected to linger over Taiwan for more than a day, longer than originally forecast.

After leaving Taiwan, it will churn across the Taiwan Strait, toward mainland China.

The storm's impact had already been felt by Friday morning (Thursday night ET), with mudslides and landslides occurring on the island.

The area has been severely affected by drought in recent months, leaving the ground so hard that it does not absorb the rainfall, CNN meteorologist Kevin Corriveau said.

Taiwan's Central News Agency, acknowledging the drought, cited the Water Resources Agency as saying that the storm had replenished the island's reservoirs and would put an end to water rationing in several areas.

The storm prompted airlines to cancel flights. Schools and government offices were closed ahead of Morakot's arrival, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.

Trading at the Taiwan Stock Exchange was also postponed until Monday, the news agency reported.

Journalist Andrew Lee, speaking to CNN from Taipei, said the strong winds had caused his entire car to shake while he was driving.

"From my observations on the ground, the motorcyclists in the city of Taipei; they couldn't proceed due to the strong winds."

He added, "Trees and posters, billboards [were] blown by strong winds."

Local media coverage showed video of roofs blown off from buildings, he said.

"We are bearing the typhoon strength right now," he said.

In China, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that governments in coastal provinces were readying themselves for the storm and had ordered fishing boats to seek shelter before Thursday night.

In Fujian province, about 8.4 million text messages had been sent to citizens warning them to prepare for the typhoon, Xinhua reported.

And more than 900 people, Chinese and foreign tourists, have been evacuated from the resort of Nanji Island, the news agency reported.

(CNN's Brandon Miller contributed to this report.)