Ships have been ordered to stay in harbor and people evacuated to safety in coastal areas in east and north China as the country braces for the strongest storm tide in 38 years on Sunday and Monday.

　　Yantai City maritime authorities said that Sund ay morning's tide was up 56 to 200 centimeters at Laizhou, Longkou and Yantai ports in east China's Shandong Province.

　　The storm tide will peak on Sunday night or Monday.

　　Some 189 ships have taken refuge in Yantai harbors.

　　By 10 a.m. Sunday, a cold wave was closing on Yantai with winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

　　In north China's coastal city of Tianjin, about 10,000 people have been organized to carry out rescue work.

　　The port of Tianjin had a 4.69-meter-high tide early Sunday morning.

　　About 10,000 tons of material and cargo in Tianjin Port were transferred to safety and coastal restaurant staff and residents were evacuated, government sources said.

　　The municipal government dispatched nearly 10,000 people to Tianjin Port and coastal areas for rescue work, said an emergency official.

　　Coastal Yantai experienced a huge 3.55-meter storm tide at Laizhou Bay on April 23, 1969, with sea water rushing 40 km into the land.