Strange water pump/alternator belt mishap

[kaliona]

1986 Accord. Alternator light comes while driving so I stop car to check under hood. See steam coming from engine compartment. I find the water pump/alternator belt sitting there in the engine compartment next to the alternator. The bearings apparently went bad on the water pump because the pulley is loose and wobbly but still attached to the water pump. The belt is not broken and completely in tact and off the engine. How the heck did that belt come off? It goes on the pulley on the crank, right? And there are two other belts "in front of" that pulley (I think the power steering and ac belts). I can see it slipping off the water pump and alternator pulleys, but how could it have come off the crank pulley? Am I missing something? In order to put it back on don't I have to remove those other two belts?

[A18A]

that's some weird alien shit going on there. Kinda like pulling your undies off before your pants

[Oldblueaccord]

Running; the belt just ran underneath the others and they stayed tracked.

I had a flat belt on a conveyor at work about 40" accross green on top the underside black. I left work it was running when I came back in it was running black side up. Never tripped the overload, never mistracked just flipped on itself somehow and stayed running.

wp

[1813mdw]

i'm suprised the belt didn't just fall out of the enginebay onto the ground. then you would have been like WTF?! where is it? how long have i been driving with no belt; and how is it even possible?