Some residents of Port Henderson Road in Portmore, St. Catherine, in their clean-up exercise. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) began cleaning up the Corporate Area and major towns across the island yesterday in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean, which battered the island on Sunday into Monday morning.

Christopher Powell, executive director of the NSWMA told The Gleaner yesterday that the agency was working in conjunction with the National Works Agency (NWA) to remove debris and fallen trees.

"We have put together some power saw teams, which have been going around Kingston and the major towns to clean the debris like the fallen trees and bushes and those kind of things," he said.

"So, we will be concentrating on those things first and then we branch off and we will be working with NWA to clear the major routes and thoroughfares."

He said work began early yesterday morning, but could not say which areas had been cleared so far.

The teams were, how-ever, seen in the parish of St. Catherine, where the Mandela Highway was blocked by fallen trees in the vicinity of Central Village .