In Kerala, there was a devastating flood in the month of August. For a week or so it rained incessantly in the Western Ghats and on the plains. All the rivers were in spate. There were too many landslides on the hilly regions and the plains were under water for a week or so. When the flood waters finally receded and the region gained normalcy, a strange phenomenon was observed. The riverbed in many places have become sand dunes and the wells have become dry or the water table went down. Here is a link to a news item on this topic.

Can you please explain why the riverbeds have gone dry after the floods? Some say that the water table in the vicinity have gone down and it is because of that the riverbed and wells have gone dry. Can a heavily rushing water in a river cause the groundwater underneath to disappear and make the water table go down?