The storm struck land near the town of Budai in Chiayi county at about 11:40 pm (1540 GMT), with maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometres (about 90 miles) per hour, the weather agency said.

Danas was expected to sweep northwards along Taiwan's west coast overnight, according to the Central Weather Administration's latest advisory.

At least 28 people have been treated for minor injuries, according to the National Fire Agency.

Danas dumped more than 500 millimetres (20 inches) of rain across southern Taiwan over the weekend, it said.

Most of the nearly 3,000 evacuated from their homes lived in mountainous areas around the southern port city of Kaohsiung, firefighters said.

At least 10 landslides were recorded and 49 areas flooded, but the water has since receded, it added.

Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October.