Center Hill community resident reflects EF-2 tornado 10 years later

WHITE COUNTY, Ark. –  The EF-4 tornado in Pulaski County wasn’t the only twister to touch down in 2014. An EF-2 tornado hit White County, leaving many with a new reality to process.

Center Hill, a community near Searcy, was hit hard and Georgia Britt’s home took a beating.

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Ten years after the 2014 tornado, the pain of what it caused for Britt doesn’t just resurface as the anniversary approaches.

“Storms come and I worry, especially now that it’s just me,” she said.

Britt is reminded every single day when she wakes up alone because she said the storm had a major impact on her husband Jewell’s decline in health.

“He felt like everything he worked for was gone,” she said. “I knew he’d make it alright, but he did it at a cost to himself because it took such a toll on him.”

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They made the repairs, but with a heavy price to pay. After the traumatic event, Jewell’s dementia continued to get worse. Georgia said it led to his death in 2021.

“Traumatic events can really make the process speed up,” she said.

“He kept trying to be strong for me and of course I was for him,” Britt said. “In hindsight, that was the worst thing we could have done. We should’ve went somewhere and talked to somebody because it was tough.”

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She said the storm also had a major financial toll on them which led to more stress but added, “everything in the world can be taken from you but it can’t take your memories,” and she said as long as she has those, she has more than many.

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