ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan has evacuated settlements located next to a military facility in the southern Zhambyl province after it was rocked by a powerful blast, the Central Asian nation's deputy defence minister said on Thursday.

       The blast followed a fire at the facility, where some engineering-purpose explosives were stored, deputy minister Ruslan Shpekbayev said. Separately, traffic authorities said they were closing off a nearby road.

       (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Additional reporting by Tamara Vaal in Nur-Sultan; Editing by Alex Richardson)