HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has called for increased water safety vigilance this summer. The agency issued a notice stating that child drowning deaths are on the rise across the country.
Drowning is the second-leading cause of death in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This year, 48 children have died from drowning in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Nearly a third of those drowning deaths happened in the Greater Houston area.
Harris County tops the list with 10 drowning deaths. That is followed by four in Galveston County and one in Montgomery County.
Of the 48 drownings in the state, more than half of them, 27 to be exact, happened in a swimming pool. Fifteen happened in a body of water, such as a river, pond or lake, and five happened in a bathtub.
Like the rest of the country, children ages 1 through 4 have the highest drowning rates.
In Texas, 35 of the drowning deaths this year included children in that age group.
The CDC noted factors that make drowning more likely. Some of them include:
- Not being able to swim
- Lack of barriers around swimming pools
- Not wearing life jackets
In Texas, children under the age of 13 are required to wear a life jacket while on recreational vessels under 26 feet in length while they are in motion.