MANILA, Philippines? (UPDATE 3) Sea trips were cancelled, schools closed as Typhoon "Santi" (international name: Mirinae) moved closer to Quezon province, officials said Friday.

Santi, which threatens to bring rain to flood-ravaged Metro Manila, has slowed down to 24 kilometers per hour, the state weather bureau said in its 5 p.m. bulletin.

Storm signal number 3 was raised over Metro Manila and 13 provinces in southern and central Luzon.

Pagasa director Prisco Nilo said the typhoon?s eye could come close as 40 kilometers south of Metro Manila early Saturday morning and direct hit on the capital was a possibility.

?This will be an intense typhoon. We should be prepared,? Nilo said, adding that Metro Manila should start feeling Santi?s gusts and rains Friday evening, with the weather becoming stormy as the night deepens.

At 4 p.m., Santi was seen 230 kilometers east of Infanta, Quezon packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 185 kph.

At this pace, the typhoon is expected to make landfall in Quezon between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. Friday and cross Southern Luzon. It is expected to pass through the provinces of Quezon, Laguna, Cavite and Batangas early Saturday.

Santi threw into chaos plans by millions of Filipinos to head back to their hometowns for a long-weekend holiday that is a traditional time for family reunions.

National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres, Jr. advised Luzon residents to put off plans to visit their dead.

"If possible, they should postpone their planned visit to cemeteries between Friday until noon of Saturday. By tomorrow, hopefully we will have a good forecast of the weather condition for Sunday," Torres said.

Weather forecaster Bernie de Leon warned against travelling. "If possible, do not travel on October 31."

"If you are going somewhere, you better go now because even departing tonight might be too dangerous," de Leon said.

However, ferries, a cheap and popular form of travel in the archipelagic Philippines, were already cancelled on Friday in some parts of Luzon.

This left over 2,800 passengers stranded in various sea ports in Southern Luzon.

The military was sent to vulnerable areas, along with relief goods, to respond quickly in case of floods, landslides or other disasters.

Nilo said as much as three inches of rain could fall during the six hours that Santi would be swirling across Southern Luzon.

?In Metro Manila, this rainfall might flow into low-lying areas. The rain band (the scope of rainclouds) is very wide and very developed,? Nilo said.

Aside from Metro Manila, storm signal number 3 was hoisted over Quezon, Polillo Island, Bulacan, Bataan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Lubang Island, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes.

Signal number 2 was raised over Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Zambales, Occidental Mindoro, Albay and Burias Island.

Under signal number 1 were Isabela, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Sorsogon, Masbate, Romblon and Calamian Group.

People living in low areas and near mountains in the provinces covered by the storm alerts are warned of the possibility of flash floods and landslides. Residents living in coastal areas under Storm Signal Nos. 3 and 2 should watch out for storm surges, or large waves generated by strong winds.

By Saturday afternoon, Santi was forecast to be at 220 kilometers west southwest of Metro Manila.

Nilo said Santi could be compared to Typhoon ?Milenyo,? which hit the country in September 2006, toppling billboards along major thoroughfares in Metro Manila and other places.

He reiterated his advice to owners of billboards to take down their ads on Friday.

The typhoon threatens to be the third killer storm to strike Luzon in just over a month.

Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana) claimed 464 lives as it dumped the heaviest rains in more than four decades on Manila and neighboring areas of the capital on September 26.

Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) struck further north of Luzon a week later, then caused massive flooding and landslides as it hovered over the region for about 10 days, claiming 465 lives.

Another 173 people have since died in and around Manila from a water-borne bacterial disease, with more than a million residents still living in flooded districts. With Agence France-Presse