Massive solar storm found - but long ago

Solar storms usually cause no more than aurora which are unknown to us here in the tropics. But if they are really bad they can disrupt electrical and communication systems all over the planet. Evidence has been found of a really big one some 2000 years ago. There was another big one which is well known about 150 years ago. According to a BBC report:

"Scientists have found evidence of a huge blast of radiation from the Sun that hit Earth more than 2,000 years ago.
The result has important implications for the present, because solar storms can disrupt modern technology.
The team found evidence in Greenland ice cores that the Earth was bombarded with solar proton particles in 660BC.
The event was about 10 times more powerful than any since modern instrumental records began."

We are now reaching the point of being able to detect storms heading our way from the sun. Protecting our technology against these rare events is difficult so shutting down is likely the only option.

See also 'Solar storm' in Wikipedia