Catatumbo Lightning - The Neverending Storm (A Short Film by Jonas Piontek)

The Catatumbo Lightning in Venezuela has captured me from the first moment I set foot in Ologa, the fishing village in the heart of Lake Maracaibo. What locals call the “Relampago de Catatumbo“ is also known as the everlasting storm, raging on in up to 300 nights every year with intensities reaching multiple flashes every second at a time. Just 15 kilometers NW of the camp lies the one point on earth with the most lightning strikes, here up to 250/km2 are registered every year. The Catatumbo Lighting is not just a Guinness World Record holder but also has been immortalized in the flag of Zulia, where people proudly call it the “Maracaibo Lighthouse“ after saving Maracaibo on multiple occasions from nighttime ambushes of foreign naval fleets. But Catatumbo is much more than just lightning, it’s an overall crazy place filled with amazing people, incredible wildlife, beautiful flora and unbelievable light scenes on an almost daily base. All these things coming together have made me fall i