At least two dead as Typhoon Danas crosses Taiwan

People ride in the rain in Taipei amid Typhoon Danas
Typhoon Danas dumped more than 60 centimetres of rain in parts of Taiwan. -AP

Typhoon Danas brought heavy winds and torrential rains to parts of Taiwan, killing two people and injuring more than 300 on the island's densely populated west coast.

The typhoon lost intensity and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved into the Taiwan Strait on a forecast path to China.

Danas knocked out power for more than 580,000 households, and schools and offices were closed across southern and central parts of Taiwan.

The typhoon crossed the west coast late on Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 144km/h.

It dumped more than 60 centimetres of rain in places, causing landslides and flooding.

Two deaths were reported in the southwestern city of Tainan, according to the National Fire Agency.

One person died when their vehicle was struck by a falling tree, while another died after his respirator malfunctioned due to losing power.

At least 334 people suffered injuries, while more than 3400 people were forced to leave their homes - mostly from mountainous areas around the southern port city of Kaohsiung.

Thousands of tourists were stranded on Taiwan's outlying islands of Penghu, Matsu and Green due to the cancellations of ferry services and flights.

Areas of southern and eastern China made preparations before the storm, which was expected to reach the mainland on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities in southern Guangdong province called hundreds of vessels to port and moved more than 2000 people from offshore facilities.

Two cities in the eastern Zhejiang province suspended ferry services and construction work.

Danas earlier intensified seasonal monsoon rains in the Philippines' northern mountains, flooding low-lying villages and forcing more than 3000 people to flee to emergency shelters.

Taiwan routinely sees tropical storms between July and October, but they are more common on its sparsely populated eastern coast facing the Pacific.