Manila  - A tropical storm that kept the Philippines on edge for one week Saturday veered away and spared northern provinces still struggling from devastation caused by two previous storms.

The weather bureau said storm Lupit was moving north-east at 15 kilometres per hour (kph) towards Japan with maximum sustained winds of 95 kph and gusts of up to 120 kph.

It added that Lupit was forecast to be 230 kilometres east of Okinawa, Japan by Monday morning.

Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres, a spokesman for the National Disaster Coordinating Council, said thousands of people who evacuated their homes in northern provinces have began to return home.

Rescue teams dispatched to threatened areas at the start of the week have also been "advised to pull out and go back to their respective bases," he said.

Storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma struck the Philippines one week apart from September 26, triggering the worst flood in over 40 years in Manila and massive landslides in northern provinces.

The two back-to-back cyclones killed 929 people and caused more than 652 million dollar's worth of damages to agriculture and infrastructure. (dpa)