On 6 April 2009 he was named prefect of L'Aquila, a city in Abruzzo recently struck by a devastating earthquake. From 2009 to 2010 Gabrielli was vice-commissar for the emergency in Abruzzo, and later was vice-chief of the Protezione Civile department for technical and aerial matters. On 13 November 2010 he became national director of the Protezione Civile, succeeding Guido Bertolaso after the latter had been involved in bribery scandals.