Some B.C. residents on holiday in Mexico when tropical storm Lidia touched down returned home Sunday. 

The tropical storm swept through Baja California on the west coast of Mexico. Resort towns, including Cabo San Lucas, were hit hard by heavy rain, winds, and flooding.

Seven people have died in the storm. For some of the vacationers, it was a summer vacation that quickly turned into a nightmare. 

"We saw this little sign pop up in the lobby and a few other areas, a tiny little sheet of paper that said a storm was coming," said Simone Grewal, at Vancouver International Airport Sunday. 

"Next thing you know, people are being swept away, cars are being swept away. It was just an absolute nightmare."

Resort destroyed

Jody Young said she was in Cabo San Lucas for about two days of sunny, tropical weather that she had been expecting when the storm hit. 

"It was horrific. We had about two nights without power and water," Young said.

"The resort was completely destroyed — I'd say there's only 20 percent of the resort left. The mud was up to the second-level rooms."

Angelica Senger was staying at the Hotel Riu Santa Fe. She said she was in the hotel's restaurant when she and others there had to scramble on a stage as water raged through the hotel. 

"Everybody was screaming," Senger said. "The water was brown, and branches, everything running through. And everything was hitting you."

Lidia has since weakened, and some vacationers were finally permitted to leave on an emergency flight to Vancouver.

Some of those staying at the resort questioned its emergency management protocols.

Tropical storms rare

Travel expert and author Robin Esrock says some resorts aren't prepared to handle these kinds of disasters, because they don't happen often.

"The chances of something like this happening are very slim — that's why people still go," Esrock said. 

But he says vacationers should always be prepared when travelling during hurricane season.

"If you do get caught in a situation like this, don't panic. Stay put," he said.

"Make sure you're in a place with food and water, and ride it out."