BINGOL, Turkey -- Turkish police fired into the air on Friday to disperse a crowd demanding tents and food after a powerful tremor destroyed their homes.

Police fired long bursts of automatic gunfire into the air as a crowd of around 1,000 demonstrators marched on the local governor's offices chanting "Government Resign".

The earthquake struck the remote southeastern city of Bingol on Thursday morning, killing up to 150 and burying around 100 school children in a collapsed dormitory, Reuters reported.

Most residents of the town spent a chilly night in the open air or under makeshift shelters of plastic sheeting.

Turkish Red Crescent officials began setting up tents and mobile kitchens in the city center on Friday morning.

Public anger has grown that apparently shoddy construction -- much of it in state buildings -- increased the quake death toll.