MANILA - Tropical storm Ramil (international codename Lupit) was forecast to gain speed as it continued to move away from the Philippines, weather bureau PAGASA said before noon Saturday.

As of 11 a.m., the storm was 340 kilometers northeast of Basco, Batanes, packing weaker center winds of 95 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 120 kph.

PAGASA said Ramil will move northeast at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour in the afternoon and out the Philippine area of responsibility by Monday morning. Its forecast location by Monday morning was 950 kilometers northeast of Basco or 230 km east of Okinawa, Japan.

Public storm signal number 3 has been lifted by the weather bureau. Signal No. 2 and No. 1 were hoisted over Batanes group of islands and Calayan island, respectively.

The weather bureau said residents of Batanes and Calayan islands should maintain readiness for possible flashfloods and landslides. Residents were also warned against storm surge generated by the storm's strong winds.

Nathaniel Cruz, PAGASA's weather branch chief, earlier said that Ramil may still make a "U-turn" if it continued its slow movement. He said the weather bureau can declare northern provinces safe from the storm only if it accelerates speed.

More storms till December

Cruz said PAGASA is expecting 2 to 3 more storms to enter the Philippine area of responsibility until December.

He said the next storm may develop over the Pacific in the next 2 or 3 days.

"The Pacific Ocean is still very active. A low pressure area (LPA) may develop over the Pacific in the next 2 or 3 days," Cruz said.

He added that LPAs developing over the Pacific during Christmas season usually crosses southern Luzon, including Metro Manila, and the Visayas.

Metro Manila and provinces in the north have yet to recover from the devastation brought by two storms that hit the country this month.

Over 900 people were killed by Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) due to flooding and landslides, while over 186,000 people are still in evacuation centers weeks after the storms left the country, the civil defense office said.

At least 148 other people have died from ensuring water-borne disease outbreaks in the nation's capital, Manila, some of which remains flooded.