Natural disaster
A solar flare is a phenomenon where the Sun suddenly releases a great amount of solar radiation, much more than normal. Solar flares are unlikely to cause any direct injury, but can destroy electrical equipment. The potential of solar storms to cause disaster was seen during the 1859 Carrington event, which disrupted the telegraph network, and the March 1989 geomagnetic storm which blacked out Quebec. Some major known solar flares include the X20 event on August 16, 1989, and a similar flare on April 2, 2001. The most powerful flare ever recorded occurred on November 4, 2003 (estimated at between X40 and X45).
AP Columbae
AP Columbae belongs to the class of stars known as UV Ceti flare stars. These are young low mass stars, which are strong sources of X-ray radiation and experience frequent flares. The latter are much like Solar flares but are much brighter as compared to the star's quiescent luminosity—the brightness of AP Columbae can increase as much as 10 times during the largest flares.