Bear in mind that the Daily Express is a tabloid newspaper.
Power outage warning: "Big solar flare heading to Earth" — time of "direct hit" predicted
Forecasters at the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), a unit of the US Department of Commerce under NOAA, has issued a G2 geomagnetic storm warning for October 11. Solar storms are rated on a scale from G1 to G5 – with one being the weakest and five having the most potential for damage. But even a G1 stomp's can create issues for billions, as experts expect power grid fluctuations and minor impacts on satellite operations.
While these solar events can help illuminate the sky with stunning aurora, they can also do considerable harm to electronics, electrical grids, and satellite and radio communications.
There was an M1.6 flare two days ago, which is not very powerful at all. We had another similar one in September.
I've had no alerts for anything large. I get automatic email notifications for everything from large C class, M class, up to dangerous X class. If you see an alert for something in the range of X40 or larger, unplug your electronics immediately.
If we ever get one large enough to take out the internet, we'll also lose the electrical grid, phone service, and cable TV. Any devices hooked up to any of those long lines will be fried.