Images showed cars and structures that had fallen 20 meters off the newly formed cliff, while many other homes remain perched perilously on the cliff edge.
Two homes in Utah slid off a cliff following a landslide and two other homes on either side of the properties were evacuated.
The Johnston County man's family lives in Salinas, a southern city in Puerto Rico. He says they underestimated the magnitude of the storm and the potential for landslides.
Jan Egil Bakkedal said he "ran for my life" into surrounding hills, and saw that his house was washed away in the landslide.
Landslides in the North Carolina mountains have closed a popular Labor Day destination ahead of the holiday weekend.
A major landslide one mile north of the 74A and Highway-9 junction has NC-9 closed.
