Natural disasters killed 41 and affected over 12 million people across China in May, according to official statistics released on Monday.

About 46,000 people were displaced, and 24 were sent to hospital, said China's Ministry of Civil Affairs and National Committee for Disaster Reduction in a statement.

Natural disasters resulted in economic losses of 8.87 billion yuan (1.31 billion US dollars), added the statement.

In addition, nearly 9,000 houses collapsed and more than 108,000 homes were damaged. About 1.74 million hectares of crops were affected, with more than 51,800 hectares destroyed, according to official data.