Deadly floods free animals

TBILISI, Georgia - Severe flooding in the Georgian capital left at least 12 people dead Sunday and triggered a big-game hunt across the city for lions, tigers, a hippopotamus, and other dangerous animals that escaped from Tbilisi's ravaged zoo.

Residents were warned to stay indoors as police conducted the hunt, but fear deepened as night fell on the city of 1.1 million with some animals still on the loose.

Heavy rain turned a normally pleasant city stream into a fierce torrent that destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes in the former Soviet republic. Officials said 12 people were known to have died and about two dozen others were missing.

There were no immediate reports that any of the dead were killed by the animals, which ran off after the floodwaters destroyed their enclosures. Among the beasts that escaped were bears, wolves, and monkeys.

A hippopotamus - an extremely aggressive animal with the ability to run faster than humans in short bursts - was spotted lumbering through a flooded square not far from the zoo and was shot with a tranquilizer dart. Other animals were hunted down and killed.

The carcasses of a lion, a boar, and a tiger were seen, and zoo authorities said six wolves were also dead. Authorities said the animals may have fled to just about any corner of Tbilisi, including the forests on the steep hills in the city's heart.

"I feel frenzied. The youngsters can't go out and walk around. I sat on the balcony with them and played games, so they could breathe some fresh air," said Khatuna Bolkvadze, 25, a mother of two who lives near the zoo.

Zoo spokeswoman Mzia Sharashidze said a count of the escaped animals was not immediately possible because so many of the zoo's enclosures were under water.

Three zoo workers were found dead on its grounds, including a woman who less than a month ago lost an arm in a tiger attack. Her husband was also reported dead.

The floodwaters gouged huge chunks out of roads and swamped homes. Helicopters circled the city, and volunteers and rescue workers labored to help residents despite the danger from the animals.