East China coastal regions are bracing for strong gales and heavy rains as tropical storm Meari moves closer for landing.

Billows are seen near the waters of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, June 26, 2011. Strong winds and heavy rains are forecast to hit China's eastern coast as tropical storm Meari is moving northwest from the southern Yellow Sea waters, according to a statement issued by the nation's meteorological authority Sunday. [Xinhua]

Thousands of people have been evacuated amid storm-triggered floodings, authorities said Sunday.

The tropical storm is expected to make a landing near the city of Donggang, northeast Liaoning Province, or areas to the north of Democratic People's Republic of Korea at Monday dawn, the National Meteorological Center said in its latest bulletin.

The storm was projected at the Yellow Sea, about 35 kilometers southeast off the coast of eastern Shandong Province, at 5 p.m. Sunday, according to the bulletin. The storm is moving north at 20 to 25 kilometers per hour, packing sustained gusts of 23 meters per second near its center.

Strong winds and heavy rain are forecast near the coasts of Shandong, Liaoning and the province of Jilin. The strength of the storm will be reduced after landing, the meteorological authorities said.

Off the coast of Shandong, the stormy weather sank or stranded three vessels on Sunday. Twenty-six people on board of the mishapped vessels have all been rescued, according to a spokesman with the provincial maritime safety administration.

Gales whipped through the Bohai Strait and over the northern part of the Yellow Sea while torrential rains pounded most parts of Liaoning, eastern Shandong, and part of Jiangsu Province on Sunday, raising water level of the Taihu Lake in Jiangsu to critical level at one point.

In the eastern province of Zhejiang, more than 7,300 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters since heavy rain pounded areas near the city of Zhoushan on Saturday, submerging houses and farms, the Ministry of Civil Affairs reported.

Meanwhile, the typhoon alarm for Shanghai has been lifted as Meari's impact on the city was less severe than expected, the meteorological authorities of the city said.

The tropical storm also brought strong winds and heavy downpours to the Republic of Korea, which has already entered this year's rainy season since last week, killing at least six people and suspending some domestic flights.

A car was swept away by rising waters while passing a bridge in South Gyeongsang Province, killing five people aboard, according to local media.

The Meari also destroyed some bridges and roads, flooded farmland, damaged some farmhouses in the Republic of Korea. However, local weather agency said the damage brought by the storm was not as serious as previously expected since it did not pounded the whole country.