Figure 4. The Australian plate is subducting under Vanuatu, which results in frequent subduction earthquakes. The motion of the Australian plate is shown by the unfilled arrow. But offshore of Port Vila, there is a vertical tear in the plate, with the south side of the tear uplifted, and the north side subsided. The tear was unknown before the 2024 earthquake revealed its presence. The 2010 magnitude 7.3 shock was a more typical subduction event, whose motion and location are represented by the large grey arrow. Credit: Temblor, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0