Hurricane-force winds hit 136 miles an hour inside a massive wind tunnel in Chester County.

105 powerful fans were aimed at two masonry buildings set up to look like small businesses, or a strip mall. The two buildings took a tremendous beating Tuesday.

Julie Rochman heads the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.  Funded by a large group of insurance companies, the group runs a test facility unlike any other in the world.

It can throw the worst of nature's fury at houses and businesses, including winds, hail, fire and debris.  The whole point is to educate and encourage builders to build better.

"We don't care what you build out of, we just want you to build it right, and that's what this test is all about," Rochman said. 

The two cinder block buildings look identical on the outside, except for their color.

One building is built with a better roof, including reinforced flashing and stronger materials. It also has more rebar running down the block walls and tied together in the corners.

The other building is constructed in the common way most similar structures are built.

During the first test, 95 mile an hour winds pound both buildings. The commonly built structure loses the flashing and part of the roof.   A second test pumps the winds to above 130 miles an hour.  Within minutes, the outer wall of the common building buckles and falls outward, sending pieces of concrete block everywhere. At the same time, the roof shifts as well.

The reinforced building has no visible damage except for a broken front picture window where a two-by-four was shot out of a cannon to simulate flying debris in a storm.

A large crowd of reporters, photographers and insurance and building executives were on hand to watch the power-packed artificial storm.

One of them, Mark Pizzi, is president of Nationwide Insurance.  He flew in from Ohio for the event.  Pizzi said twenty-five percent of small businesses destroyed in a disaster never reopen.

He hopes this test can change that down the road.

"I look at it this way. This test today is about business, staying in business," he said.

When a small business disappears, it also takes jobs, money and sometimes a community goes with it.  Pizzi said the tough part is to get builders to see that, and use better, safer construction methods.

"Safety doesn't sell in houses the way it does in automobiles," Pizzi said. "I think the real hurdle is a mindset."

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety revolutionized the auto industry more than a decade ago.  The institute started crashing cars and turning safety issues into dramatic videos. Auto makers quickly took notice and put a stronger focus on safety.

The folks at IBHS hope to see a similar revolution in home and business construction. However, they acknowledge it's a much tougher road.

"With cars, you get seven auto makers to change things and soon everyone's doing it," Pizzi said. “Here you're talking about thousands of architects, thousands of builders. It'll be a longer, slower process."

Rochman said the better roofing materials on one of the test buildings only cost about $150. The whole building, which survived the powerful winds virtually intact, cost only $3,000 more to build.

Rochman told Channel 9 that the education coming out of these tests is having a strong influence on the construction and insurance industry.  The goal, she said, is to prevent loss.

"Our test program has already yielded some very useful information for the insurance industry and for their policy holders. The people who own houses and businesses across the country," she said.