Giant wind tunnel destroys buildings to study safety in South Carolina

The cement block wall of a strip mall restaurant came tumbling down as the business was blasted with 135 mph winds. The epic event unfolded under controlled conditions inside the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s giant wind tunnel in rural Chester County, S.C. IBHS, a non-profit safety research organization funded by the insurance industry, conducts the building industry’s equivalent of car crash tests inside the giant chamber, which can simulate hurricanes, hail storms, wildfires and other natural disasters.