Evacuation zone saw nearly half of Sandy drownings

Nearly half of the drowning deaths during Superstorm Sandy occurred in New York City's evacuation zone, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Using data gathered by the American Red Cross, there were 18 drowning victims who died in homes located in Zone A, a mandatory evacuation area along the city's coast where storm surges were greatest.

There were 40 drowning victims throughout the East Coast, mostly concentrated in New York state, which had 32 fatalities. In total, there were 117 deaths that occurred between Sandy's landfall on Oct. 28 to Nov. 30, according to the Red Cross' mortality tracking.