Rivers swollen by torrential rains have left some 20,000 people cut off in Honduras, the government said Tuesday.

Evacuations were ordered in the western department of Atlantida, the emergency situations commission called COPECO said.

The department's capital city La Ceiba, the country's third largest, 400 km (250 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa, was particularly hard hit.

Colon departament also had people stranded by raging waters, the commission said.

Heavy rains were forecast to last for hours more and residents were warned to watch out for landslides and flooding.