Madrid ( CNN ) -- Thousands of residents of the southeastern Spanish city of Lorca slept outside Wednesday night , hours after the city of about 80,000 was struck by an earthquake that killed eight people , state radio reported , citing authorities . `` It was a strange sensation , '' said a press office worker who was in his office in the regional capital of Murcia , about 60 kilometers ( 37 miles ) from Lorca . He estimated the duration of the quake from five to eight seconds . The 5.1-magnitude quake occurred at 6:47 p.m. ( 12:47 p.m . ET ) and was centered about 50 kilometers ( 31 miles ) southwest of Murcia , near the Mediterranean coast , the U.S. Geological Survey said . That is about 350 kilometers ( 218 miles ) south-southeast of Madrid . It was preceded at 5:05 p.m. ( 11:05 a.m . ET ) by a 4.5-magnitude temblor centered in the same area , the survey said . At least one of the deaths occurred in a building collapse in Lorca , state-run EFE said . Television pictures showed the belfry of an old church collapsing soon after the earthquake , as well as fallen bricks on top of damaged cars there . Buildings with broken windows and piles of rubble in the streets of Lorca could also be seen . The press office said a hospital in Lorca had been evacuated as a precaution . Many of those who were spending the night outside said they were afraid to return to their houses or had been advised not to do so , state radio said . The quake occurred during an election campaign for Spain 's 8,000 town mayors and most of its regional governments , with voting scheduled for May 22 . The two major parties called for a suspension of campaigning on Thursday out of respect for the victims . CNN 's Al Goodman and Juan Munoz contributed to this story .
Thousands of people are sleeping outside in southeastern city of Lorca . The earthquake measured 5.1 magnitude , the USGS says . It was centered near the Mediterranean coast .