The October 20, 2015 M 7.1 Vanuatu earthquake occurred as the result of oblique-reverse faulting at an intermediate depth, approximately 130 km beneath the Pacific Ocean and 100 km to the east of the New Hebrides Trench, within the lithosphere of the subducting Australia plate. Focal mechanisms indicate oblique rupture occurred on either a west-northwest or south-southeast-striking, moderately-dipping fault. At the latitude of the earthquake, the Australia plate moves east-northeast relative to the Pacific plate, subducting beneath the New Hebrides arc and North Fiji Basin at a velocity of about 88 mm/yr. The plate boundary in this region is often sub-divided into a collection of small tectonic microplates that together accommodate the convergence of the much larger Australia and Pacific plates.
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