WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - A U.S. environmental satellite has been moved to give continuous coverage to South America, where past service was sometimes interrupted by hurricanes and other severe weather in the United States.

The shift of the NOAA GOES-10 satellite from its equatorial perch over the mid-Pacific to a new spot in orbit over Brazil is meant to limit the effects of natural disasters like storms, floods, drought, volcanic ash clouds and fires, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration said in a statement.

The satellite provides images of the southern hemisphere every 15 minutes and is one of a group of satellites that warn of dangerous weather and other environmental hazards.

Formerly, satellites that offered environmental data to South America would be preempted during U.S. severe weather events to make detailed scans of the United States. Now GOES-10 is dedicated to South America.

U.S. and South American officials announced the satellite's readiness on Tuesday, well before the June 1 start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

"In the past, coverage has been interrupted during hurricanes and other severe weather events in the U.S.," Gilberto Camara, director of Brazil's National Space Research Institute, said in a statement. "Now, South Americans will have continuing satellite coverage. We will no longer be left in the dark."

The U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration said satellites can provide vital advanced warning for natural disasters in South America, where these events caused nearly 70,000 deaths in the 1990s.

More than half of these deaths were from flooding, NOAA said, with storms, cyclones and mudslides accounting for another 20 percent.

AlertNet news is provided by