Alarmed by the increase in the number of drownings in Suffolk County in one year, an alliance on water safety has drawn up the first "action plan" to educate the public to reduce these "preventable" deaths, officials said.

"New York State has the fourth-highest drowning statistic across the U.S., and Suffolk County was identified as having a 60% increase in drownings from 2023 to 2024," said Jamie Ryan, a certified pediatric nurse and injury prevention professional for the pediatric trauma center at Stony Brook Children's Hospital.

The action plan was completed by water safety nonprofits, Stony Brook Medicine, community groups and governmental entities.

Suffolk had 24 fatal drownings in 2024, compared with 15 the year before, according to the "Suffolk County, New York Drowning Preventi

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