Manila  - A powerful typhoon Saturday spared the Philippine capital and surrounding areas already devastated by massive floods, but officials warned it could still cause damage to northern provinces.

The weather bureau said typhoon Parma was packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 210 kph. It shifted its track away from Manila and nearby provinces and was now moving towards the Philippines' northern tip.

Parma was expected to make landfall over Cagayan province, 405 kilometres north of Manila, on Saturday evening.

"The threat of typhoon Parma to us in Manila has eased," chief weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said. "This is the good news. But I must warn those in the extreme north that the weather conditions will still worsen."

More than 33,000 people in Manila as well as eastern and northern provinces fled their homes as part of a preemptive evacuation ordered by the government.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who heads the National Disaster Coordinating Council, urged the public not to become complacent despite the change.

"While the storm has changed course, it does not mean there will be no rains," he said over radio. "We're not yet sure if it will not rain and if it will not flood again."

Parma was boring down on the Philippines just one week after tropical storm Ketsana triggered the worst flooding in 40 years in Manila and surrounding provinces, killing 288 people. Forty-two people are still missing. (dpa)