MANILA – Typhoon “Ramil” (international code name Lupit) continued to hover at sea as it plodded towards northern Luzon Monday, according to the latest Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather forecast.

Packing 175 kph winds and gusts of up to 210 kph, “Ramil” was located 1,160 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan as of 2 a.m.

“Ramil” slightly intensified after having maximum sustained winds of 160 kph and gusts of up to 195 kph Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, PAGASA reported that an Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is currently affecting Luzon and Visayas.

Luzon and Visayas will have cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms while Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.

PAGASA noted that “Ramil” could hit areas devastated by tropical storm “Pepeng,” including Pangasinan and the Cordilleras.

The typhoon is forecast to be 1,070 km east of Aparri Tuesday morning, 720 km east northeast of Aparri Wednesday morning, and 350 km east northeast of Aparri Thursday morning.

Authorities on Sunday placed rescue teams on standby and stockpiled emergency supplies as the country braced for Typhoon Ramil (international code name Lupit) in the wake of two storms which left more than 900 people dead.

"Those in critical areas should be evacuated now that there is still time," weather service chief Prisco Nilo told a news conference.

"It would be more difficult to rescue people in the middle of a typhoon," he added.

Dams continue spilling

The weather service had also warned that seven dams in northern Luzon had been releasing water in anticipation of heavy rains that Typhoon Ramil could bring to Luzon which has already been devastated by Tropical storms “Ondoy” and Typhoon “Pepeng”.

As of 10 p.m. Sunday, PAGASA said Angat dam was spilling water at 269 cubic meters per second; Ipo dam at 128cms; Ambuklao dam at 97 cms; Binga dam at 288 cms San roque dam at 432 cms; Pandtabangan dam at 220 cms and Magat dam at 559 cms.

Of the 7 dams, only San Roque dam’s reservoir was reported to be above its deviation from normal elevation. It was reported to be 0.20 meter above its normal elevation level.

Widespread flooding had killed 380 people and displaced 4.34 million others in and around Manila on September 26 as “Ondoy” (international code name Ketsana) brought record rainfall to the region, the NDCC said in an updated toll.

“Pepeng” (international code name Parma) hit northern Luzon a week later and hovered over the region for a week, triggering landslides and floods that left 438 people dead and displaced 3.8 million others, it added.

About 266,000 people remain in crowded evacuation camps more than two weeks later, and a bacteria-borne disease called leptospirosis has killed another 89 people in flooded areas since then, the health department said.--With a report from Jenny Reyes, ABS-CBN News