COLOMBO, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Irrigation Department reported that over 20,000 Sri Lankans have been affected by natural disasters caused by heavy rains by Tuesday morning.

The department said 55 of the 73 major reservoirs were overflowing by Monday night due to heavy rains in some parts of the country. The Northcentral and Northwestern provinces are the most affected.

The Met Department expects that the current heavy rains will start to reduce starting on Tuesday.