Tigers and lions roam Tbilisi streets after flooding

Tigers, lions, bears, a hippopotamus and other animals have escaped from a zoo in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, after heavy rain and strong winds destroyed their enclosures overnight.

At least eight people were killed in the flooding, including three zoo employees, with 10 people remaining unaccounted for. Residents of the capital have been advised to stay inside as it is unclear how many animals are still roaming free.

Earlier on Sunday a hippo was cornered in one of Tbilisi's main squares. The animal was subdued with a tranquilizer gun.

Bears were among some of the animals to escape their destroyed enclosures when flooding hit the Georgian capital overnight. Some other animals have been recaptured, but helicopters continue to circle the city looking for the zoo's prized exhibits.

One of zoo's bears, which escaped early on Sunday morning, has been swimming in a flooded Tbilisi street.

The Vere river, which flows through Tbilisi, was turned into a torrent sweeping dozens of shacks and cars downstream.

The high water turned inner-city streets and squares into raging streams that were strewn with debris, including rubbish and fallen trees.

In the city of 1.2 million, thoroughfares were covered with a thick layer of mud and hundreds of fallen trees. Scores of people have been left without shelter and thousands without electricity or clean water.