Dozens of vacationers were surprised on Saturday afternoon by a rare high tide that quickly left at least 20 vehicles in the water — some more than half submerged — at La Cholla beach in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.

The vehicles had been parked on the beach several meters away from the water but were suddenly flooded by the incoming tide.

Beachgoers were left scrambling to rescue their vehicles, along with beach paraphernalia and other belongings.

Hours later the tide finally went out and several motorists were able to successfully drive their vehicles up and away from the beach, while others had to be towed.

A video of the incident on social media drew comments from residents that sudden high tides occur frequently and without warning in the area, often rising dramatically in less than an hour.

Civil Protection officials said the sudden high tide was caused by strong seasonal winds.

Source: El Imparcial (sp), Sin Embargo (sp)