BANGKOK, May 7 (Reuters) - About 1 million people were left homeless by the devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar and about 5,000 sq km (1,930 sq miles) remain underwater in the Irrawaddy delta, a U.N. aid official said on Wednesday.

"We estimate upwards of 1 million people currently in need of shelter and life-saving assistance," Richard Horsey, spokesman for the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told Reuters in Bangkok after a meeting of aid experts.

"There are large swathes of the lower Irrawaddy delta completely under water. We are talking 5,000 sq km under water. It's a vast area," Horsey said. (Reporting by Darren Schuettler; Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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