Just as a little note,
If you've ever heard me mention Corrugated iron roofing materials, there's some of it wrapped around the base of that pole in the 3rd pic.
It's used quite widely here as a roofing material on houses and all sorts of other buildings.
Having this sort of thing flying around in high winds, is just another good reason to take cover.
Also, it may look rather damp in this town, the West Coast of New Zealand has the highest annual rainfall in the world, with upwards of 1000mm falling per year.
2-300mm have been known to fall in one day. [Linked Image]