Just to confirm that CuriousOne is correct as regards direct radiation damage to your body.
From Solar Flares
Solar flares are gigantic explosions associated with sunspots, caused by the sudden release of energy from “twists” in the sun’s magnetic field. They are intense bursts of radiation that can last for anywhere from minutes to hours. Solar flares and CMEs pose no direct threat to humans—Earth’s atmosphere protects us from the radiation of space weather. (If an astronaut out in space is bombarded with the high-energy particles from a CME, he or she could be seriously injured or killed. But most of us won’t have to worry about that situation.) We could, however, feel the effects of CMEs indirectly, through the disruptions to our technology—some of which could have devastating and lingering effects on civilization.
As an example of this, you could read Quebec Blackout and as we become more reliant on satellites, we spend a lot of effort hardening their electronic components against radiation. We also try to predict Solar weather, so we can turn things off before the flare affects us.
However, taking into account what I have learned from @RobJefferies comments below, your best chance of minimising indirect effects are, as you say in your post, near the equator.