MADRID, Dec 31: Two people have been reported missing in the wake of storms and strong winds which lashed most of Spain on Saturday, which have already claimed one life and injured at least eight, police said.

The death was that of a 79-year-old woman, killed in Madrid when she was struck on the head by a piece of falling scaffolding.

A young windsurfer, initially reported missing in Los Alcazares near Murcia in the southeast of the country, made his own way back to shore after he was caught up in 100 kilo-metre-an-hour winds battering the coast.

But in the Pyrenees mountain range, rescuers searching for a hiker who was swept away by an avalanche on Mount Garmo Negro and a ski instructor who was reported missing after an avalanche at Port Aine, called off their operations without managing to locate the victims.

In the Mediterranean coastal town of Valencia, eight people were injured when the facade of a building that was being renovated collapsed.

Seven of the injured were admitted to hospital but were not considered to have lifethreatening injuries, according to doctors.

Civil protection authorities broadcast alerts for 14 of Spain's 17 autonomous regions because of snow, rain, low temperatures and high winds.

With snow forecast above 700 metres authorities have warned people who are venturing out into affected areas only to do so by car, with snow chains and a mobile telephone.