BEIJING, April 14 -- Natural disasters caused the deaths of 32 people in China in the first quarter of 2017, and another 39 were hospitalized, government statistics showed.

Natural disasters also affected the lives of nearly 1.96 million people, with 16,000 displaced, according to figures released Friday by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Commission for Disaster Reduction.

In addition, over 1,300 houses collapsed and about 4,000 hectares of crops were destroyed.

Authorities estimated economic losses of 1.87 billion yuan (270 million U.S. dollars), but the situation in the first quarter was less serious compared with the same period in the past eight years.