Aug 28, 1859, the start of the Carrington Event

overhead displayFrom August 28 to September 2, 1859, numerous sunspots and solar flares were observed on the sun, resulting in what we refer to now as the Carrington Event. The stories about this solar storm are amazing. The lights must have been fantastic, reaching far south into Cuba and Jamaica. I wonder how much damage would result if this were happen today?

further reading:
Can Today’s Technology Survive a Major Solar Event?

Wikipedia Solar Storm of 1859

The Largest Magnetic Storm on Record