NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH, N.C. -- Hurricane Chris is moving further away from the North Carolina coastline, but rip currents and powerful waves are still creating dangerous surf conditions.

• The National Weather Service still has a high rip current risk in effect for Atlantic Beach all the way up to Duck
• Onslow County Emergency officials say it's important to know your exact location when you’re on the beach
• Emergency officials say it's also important to keep your eye on the swimmer at all times until help arrives

The National Weather Service still has a high rip current risk in effect for Atlantic Beach all the way up to Duck, while Emerald Isle and North Topsail are under a moderate risk.

About 20 rip current rescues were reported at Wrightsville Beach Wednesday morning. In Carolina Beach, there were 15 as of Wednesday afternoon. That's according to National Weather Service reports.

Onslow County Emergency officials say it's important to know your exact location when you’re on the beach, especially beaches with no lifeguards.

They say if you need to call 911 for a water rescue, that piece of information will help them respond quicker.

"If you don't know where you're at obviously it's going to take us longer to get to you,” said Ray Silance, Onslow County 911 Division Chief. “Yes, most people do have cellphones nowadays, but cell phones aren't always accurate, so we like to confirm that information. We can get a phase 2, which gets a GPS location, but sometimes that takes a little bit especially out in the ocean," said Silance.

Emergency officials say it's also important to keep your eye on the swimmer at all times until help arrives.