A marine tsunami warning was issued for Lord Howe Island on Friday afternoon following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in the Western Pacific Ocean.

The earthquake occurred underwater to the southeast of New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, shortly before 1pm AEST on Friday, May 19.

Around one hour later, tsunami waves reaching up to 22 cm were observed in parts of New Caledonia.

As of 3:30pm AEST, the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) had issued a marine tsunami warning for Lorde Howe Island from 4:15pm AEST on Friday.

Image: Tsunami warning for Lord Howe Island and the earthquake location. Map current at 3:30pm AEST. Source: Bureau of Meteorology / JATWC

According to the JATWC, a marine tsunami warning alerts to the risk of "potentially dangerous rips, waves and strong ocean currents in the marine environment and the possibility of only some localised overflow onto the immediate foreshore."

This is different to a land tsunami warning, which are used to alert "low-lying coastal areas of major land inundation, flooding, dangerous rips, waves and strong ocean currents."

As 3:30pm AEST, there was no tsunami threat to mainland Australia. However, anyone on Australia’s east coast and offshore waters should monitor the latest tsunami advisories for the most up-to-date information.