Summer is finally here! Sure, it’s an unusual summer this year, but it’s still prime time for people to hit the water. With that extra time in the lakes, pools and oceans comes extra responsibility. As a learning tool, let’s take a look at the U.S. Drowning Stats for June 2020. As you’ll see, there has been a stark rise in drownings versus last year.
U.S. Drowning Stats for June 2020
Each month, Life Saver Pool Fence takes a long hard look at the drowning trends from around the nation. Through careful examination, it is possible to find potential causes for dips and peaks in these statistics. As always, these drowning stats and maps are being shared by Life Saver Pool Fence, but they were collected by Total Aquatic Programming. We’ll talk more about them later, but first… let’s look at the numbers.
As you’ll see below, the U.S. Drowning Stats for June 2020 are much higher than the June statistics from earlier years. These statistics have been collected since 2009, with the goal of noticing patterns that can help us to find ways to eliminate this danger from all of our lives. By examining these numbers, we’ll hopefully be able to recognize common problem areas, such as a lack of water safety education.
As our regular monthly readers know, this basic chart focuses on four key age groups and how they are affected by drowning:
- Children aged four and younger
- Children aged 12 and under
- Teenagers
- Adults, meaning anyone older than teens
Chart: Drowning Stats for June 2020
As you can see, there has been quite an intense rise in drowning rates this year. At a glance, it seems that the number of drownings for children aged four and under are drastically lower that previous years. As such, it may be fair to assume parents of young children have been staying inside during the pandemic and limiting child access to pools and natural waters.
Above that age, however, the numbers seem far direr. Teens and adults are seeing drastic increases in their drowning rates. In fact, we’re seeing all-time high in drowning rates for kids aged 12 and under.
Why Is This Happening?
The June 2020 drowning stats are very unsettling. This is undeniable. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact reason, but this definitely opens the door to intense speculation.
With a guess, we’d say that extremely young children are probably being kept away from the water by their concerned parents during this time. That’s natural since so many parents are extra-protective during the early years. That said, what about the rest of us, who are over the age of four?
To offer a possibility, perhaps older kids and adults are not taking the pandemic quite as seriously. It’s true that it is perfectly safe to swim even with the COVID-19 “Stay Inside” orders. However, many people are bored or anxious to swim, and may be willing to disregard state guidelines and regulations in the process.
Perhaps a major culprit in all these drowning instances is that there isn’t a lifeguard present. Two of the cardinal rules of safe swimming is to always have an attentive lifeguard or someone trained in CPR nearby. As we’ve seen in many recent news stories, people are skirting the health advisories and swimming without anyone looking out for their safety. While we’re not saying this is definitely the cause of this spike in the drowning stats, it is certainly a heavy contender. Stay safe and only swim in approved areas. It could easily save your life.
Understanding The Numbers: Drowning Maps for 2019/2020
In addition to the June 2020 drowning stats above, we have been provided with two additional graphics. The first is a nationwide drowning map for all of 2019. This map identifies “hot spots” of child drowning incidents on a state-by-state basis. Please take a look at the map below. It has been updated to include all drownings through July 2019.
Up next is the 2020 detailed map of child drownings. Please note that the numbers inside each state on this map represent the ages of the children, not the number of children. Each age represents one child. So, if a child was 10-11-12 years old, their age is underlined so as not to confuse as two separate numbers. For example, a 12-year-old would be listed on the map as “12.”
Where Do These Drowning Stats Come From?
As mentioned earlier, these U.S. drowning stats and graphics are brought to us courtesy of Sue and Mick Nelson of Total Aquatic Programming, LLC. USA Swimming, the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States, also uses this information.
If you are interested in learning more about the people behind this data, watch our full Child Safety Source interview with Mick Nelson. Additionally, you can visit Total Aquatic Programming’s official website.
