ROXAS CITY, Philippines -- After it survived Typhoon Frank (international codename: Fengshen) last Saturday, the public market of Banga town in Aklan was hit by fire Thursday evening.

In a phone interview, Aklan Provincial Disaster and Coordinating Council (PDCC) action officer Pacquito Saratiosa said 20 stalls of the town's public market were razed to the ground. No casualty was reported.

The fire trucks from nearby towns of Kalibo, Balete and New Washington helped in putting out the fire that started at 9 p.m. and was placed under control about 10 p.m.

Fire investigators were still trying to verify reports that a lighted candle triggered the fire.

The public market, which was built in 2000, was hardly affected by Frank and was back for business a day after the typhoon, even as the rest of the province was grappling with deaths, injuries and huge property losses, Saratiosa said.

Banga, which is 10 kilometers from the province's capital town of Kalibo, was hardly hit by the typhoon.