To everyone saying there is nothing to worry about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859http://greekgeek.hubpages.com/hub/massive-solar-flare-1859More seriously, the solar storm battered the world's infant communication network. Telegraph wires burst into flames, touching off fires (while in other cases fire crews were called to fires that did not exist, due to the fiery lights in the sky). Telegraph machines scorched paper printouts, stunned operators with electric shocks, transmitted gibberish, and continued working for hours even after being unplugged from the batteries that powered them.
Now add in millions of more miles of wires, not to mention adding such wiring to every home. Sure, we're unlikely to experience another flare of that magnitude soon, and we will have some warning time. However, it still won't be pleasant the next time it happens. Also, there is the threat of geomagnetic reversal if the magnetic field is disturbed too much. It has happened many times before and it will happen again.
I wouldn't live in fear of such events, but to discount them completely is IMHO folly. Just make sure you have a few fire extinguishers and if a huge flare is detected don't ignore the instructions. At the very least I'd switch off your main circuit breaker when it is going to hit. The recent flare was the largest in 5 years, but it wasn't really that big. We're still a year away from the peak of this cycle though so expect more and larger flares. For more information, see spaceweather.com.
