Drone footage shows alligator on the loose after Georgia floods

Several animals have already died while they could be others still roaming the city

(Ruptly)

As workers and volunteers help victims and try to recover some normality in the Georgian capital, Tblisi, they have to be ever vigilant of dangerous animals still on the loose after escaping the city's zoo.

14 people have died and ten are missing after a huge downpour and strong winds on 14 June turned a stream through the city into a torrent of water that destroyed homes, wrecked roads and pushed vehicles aside.

The clear up is now under way, but drone footage from near Heroes' Square shows an escaped alligator swimming menacingly along the flood waters.

Four lions, three tigers, two jaguars and two wolves were killed during the floods, either by the water or after being shot by police while on the loose. A spokeswoman for the zoo said they were still trying to find out what had happened to cause the mass escape.

It is still not known how many other animals will be found dead in the next few days, nor how many were still at large around the city.

It was not just the zoo that saw its animals affected by the floods; a private shelter nearby revealed that 350 of 500 dogs were killed in the water.

Prague Zoo, which had to deal with flooding in 2002 and 2013, has sent a team to work with their counterparts in Georgia.

"When we learned about the situation in Tbilisi Zoo, we started to work out how to help," Prague Zoo's Miroslav Bobek said. "Based on our experience with the floods, we decided to create a team of curators to travel to Georgia's zoo to help take care of the animals."