Lord Howe Island is on tsunami watch following a massive undersea earthquake near New Caledonia.
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The magnitude-7.7 earthquake was felt at 12.57pm AEST near Loyalty Islands and New Caledonia in the South Pacific. Geoscience Australia said the quake hit at a depth of 31 kilometres.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued Lord Howe Island, 700 kilometres southeast of Brisbane, a tsunami warning with an expected arrival time of 3:45pm AEST.
BOM said a 22-centimetre tsunami wave was observed near New Caledonia.
Warning may also be issued to Fiji, Vanuatu and New Zealand.
The situation is being "closely monitored" by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre who will advise anyone in the path of the tsunami.
There is no land threat to the Australian mainland or Australian territories, BOM said.
The warning centre said tsunamis can "generate dangerous rips, waves and strong currents that pose a risk to surfers, swimmers, people in small boats and anyone else in the water".
"There may be some localised flooding onto the immediate foreshore."
The first may not be the largest and there will be many waves, it warned.
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