JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Back in New York this hour, Mayor Rudy Giuliani said earlier today that a major disaster drill has been planned for his city on September 12, and because of that coincidence more than 100 emergency experts were already in town at the time of the World Trade Center attacks. Mayor Giuliani also updated recovery efforts today, and he addressed the future of the World Trade Center site. Latest details now from CNN's Brian Palmer in lower Manhattan -- Brian.</s>BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Joie. More than two weeks into the recovery operation at the World Trade Center site. Plumes of white smoke continue to billow from this 16-acre field of rubble, the twisted eye beams and pulverized concrete. There is a constant almost gentle shower of dust and ash that covers everything down here, as a caravan of heavy vehicles trundles past, bearing those twisted eye beams, burying cars that have been crushed and damaged by the collapse of the building. Just a little while ago, there was a caravan of police vehicles that zipped past us into the site. We don't know what it means, but it speaks to the constant level of activity here, 24 hours day, seven days a week. This morning, Mayor Rudy Giuliani gave his regular daily briefing updating people on the recovery and the rebuilding process.</s>MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI, NEW YORK: The amount of time that they will need to remove and clear the site will range anywhere from nine months to one year. Because of the complexity that they believe they are going to face, in particularly once they remove the surface structures and debris, which will take still a very, very long period of time. The complexity that they are going to face in removing the debris and the structures that have been -- that have been driven into the ground, which is something that is going to make the removal effort even more difficult.</s>PALMER: Mayor Giuliani also confirmed that 306 people are now confirmed dead -- Joie.</s>CHEN: CNN's Brian Palmer, updating the latest for us from the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan, thanks very much.
Giuliani Updates on the Recovery Efforts at Ground Zero