A coronal mass ejection caused the Carrington Event back in 1859.
Lord Carrington was Queen Victoria’s science advisor.
A repeat of that event would be a catastrophic event for most of the world.
Fortunately, what is predicted sounds mild compared to that 1859 event.
The Carrington Event’s (1850s) sunspot group was favorably compared in size to this week’s sunspot group. See the presentation in the following:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsBY9WwRxvc&pp=ygUYVGhlIGNhcnJpbmd0b24gZXZlbnQgMi4w
I wonder if flares preceded the CME back then.