About 1550 BC both Tall al Hammamm and the rest of the Jordan Valley become devoid of occupation for hundreds of years:


The site was occupied in the Chalcolithic (c. 4300–3600 BCE), Early Bronze Age (c. 3600–2500 BCE), Intermediate Bronze Age (2500–1950 BCE), Middle Bronze Age (c. 1950–1550 BCE), Iron Age II–III (c. 980–332 BCE),[16] and Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods (163 BCE–750 CE).[17] Like most sites in the Jordan Valley, it was vacant in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 BCE). Only some Late Bronze pottery was discovered in a tomb,[18] and a single freestanding LB2a structure in Field UA on the upper tall.[19] The "Late Bronze Gap" (first named by Flanagan at Tall Nimrin) of c. 550 years is not unique to Tall al-Hammam but characteristic of many of the sites in the Jordan valley (H_brew kikkār) region, including Tall Iktanu, Tall Kefrein (al-Kefrayn), Tall Nimrin,[20] Tall el-Musṭāḥ, Tall Bleibel (Bulaybil), etc.[21] The most substantial findings are from the Early Bronze Age, Intermediate Bronze Age, and Middle Bronze Age.[22]



[link to en.m.wikipedia.org (secure)]


No why?

Quote:


One remaining puzzle is why the city and over 100 other area settlements were abandoned for several centuries after this devastation. It may be that high levels of salt deposited during the impact event made it impossible to grow crops. We’re not certain yet, but we think the explosion may have vaporized or splashed toxic levels of Dead Sea salt water across the valley. Without crops, no one could live in the valley for up to 600 years, until the minimal rainfall in this desert-like climate washed the salt out of the fields.


(From article cited in op)