Forecast of a huge Solar Storm on June 24

Just before dawn of 1859, skies all over planet Earth erupted in red, green, and purple auroras so brilliant that newspapers could be read as easily as in daylight. Stunning auroras pulsated even at near tropical latitudes over Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Hawaii. Even more disconcerting, telegraph systems worldwide went haywire. Spark discharges shocked telegraph operators and set the telegraph paper on fire. Even when telegraphers disconnected the batteries powering the lines, aurora-induced electric currents in the wires still allowed messages to be transmitted. These were the scenario that happened in 1859.

Now as researchers predicted a huge solar storm to reach Earth on June 24, this week, officials have gathered at the National Press Club in Washington DC to ask themselves a simple question: What if it happens again? A similar storm today might knock us for a loop, a solar physicist at NASA headquarters said modern society depends on high-tech systems such as smart power grids, GPS, and satellite communications--all of which are vulnerable to solar storms.

Our situation would be more serious as solar activities were more frequent. As predicted the impact of the solar storm could be more devastating; a widespread blackouts carried across continents by long-distance power lines may last for weeks to months as engineers will struggle to repair damaged transformers.  GPS units for navigation may go hay-wire.  Banking and financial networks might go offline, disrupting commerce in a way unique to the Information Age. Based on the report from the National Academy of Sciences in 2008, a century-class solar storm could have the economic impact of 20 hurricane Katrina.

These were the modern concerns that were should be worried about, we must be concern regarding the Sun's activity and how we could co-exist with the harmful effect of the sun as it unleash it's solar storms more frequent as it was before.

For a more graphical understanding refer to this link:

http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2011/06/22/20110621_070500_anim.tim-den.gif