Children’s memories of Hurricane Katrina faded after they lived through Hurricane Gustav, a new study has found.

The research, led by University of New Orleans psychology professor Carl Weems and published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, found that overall, kids’ memories of a traumatic event fade after experiencing an event that’s similar but less stressful.

“This is a fairly substantial first-of-its kind finding,” Weems said. “We were able to confirm a promising line of laboratory research that suggests there may be an adaptive alteration of memories for traumatic events.