Lions, tigers, bears and other animals have escaped from a zoo in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, adding to chaos caused by flooding that killed at least 10 people.
Police and soldiers were hunting down the animals, recapturing some and shooting others dead, while rescuers airlifted scores of people trapped by the floods.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili called on Tbilisi residents to stay indoors while the animals were still on the loose.
He said the damage to the city's infrastructure was "substantial" after the River Vere burst its banks after hours of torrential rain.
A spokesman at the State Security and Crisis Management Council said 10 people, including rescuers, had been killed in the flood.
He said the number of missing people was still being established, and at least 36 people had been hospitalised, including 16 with multiple fractures.
The floods turned the streets and squares into raging torrents, sweeping away cars and flooding houses.
Tbilisi Zoo spokeswoman Mzia Sharashidze told the InterPressNews agency that three dead bodies had been found on the grounds of the zoo, including two employees.
"Search for animals continues, but a large part of the zoo is simply non-existent," she said. "It was turned into a hellish whirlpool.
"Some 20 wolves, eight lions, white tigers, tigers, jackals, jaguars have either been shot dead by special forces or are missing. Only three out of our 17 penguins were saved."
Rustavi 2 television broadcast footage showing a hippo swimming in the flooded Heroes' Square in downtown Tbilisi as rescuers struggled to capture the animal.
Pictures circulating on social media showed a huge alligator wading past parked cars and a bear perched on an air-conditioning unit on the side of a building.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili sent his condolences to the victims' families as he visited the affected area to observe the clean-up operation.
"The human losses that we have suffered are very hard to tolerate," he told local TV. "I express my condolences to all the people who lost their relatives."
Several main thoroughfares in the city of 1.2 million were covered with thick layer of mud and hundreds of fallen trees.
The main damage was done when the Vere river - which flows through the park containing the zoo in the centre of the city - burst its banks.
Mayor David Narmania called on Tbilisi residents to help take part in the clean-up operations that are underway throughout the city.
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