Story highlights Heavy rain turns calm stream into a raging river

Flooding washes away cars and a house, collapses hillsides

16 people in area west of capital evacuated by helicopter

(CNN) Wild animals roamed the streets of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, on Sunday, after raging floodwaters damaged the city's zoo and set many of the animals free.

Twelve people died in the flooding, according to Civil Georgia, a news website run by the nongovernmental organization UN Association of Georgia.

Several others were missing, and wolves, bears, big cats and even a hippopotamus were wandering the streets of the city, according to Civil.ge , a news agency funded by the EU and the UN.

Of the zoo's 600 residents, including fish and birds, about half were missing on Sunday, theTbilisi Zoo said.

Some animals have been recaptured, Civil.ge reported. Others have been killed.

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